


Retrouvailles

by elvengypsypheonix



Series: Yuánfèn [2]
Category: Reign (TV)
Genre: F/M, Past Abuse, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-09-30 05:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 56,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17217854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elvengypsypheonix/pseuds/elvengypsypheonix
Summary: Andrew and Rosemary have found their way on the same path at last.The question now is, what does tomorrow hold as they navigate life and their continuing journey together.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my pretties,
> 
> Well, we have a few days until 2019 is upon us, and I bring the beginning of Andrew and Rosemary's second story.
> 
> I'm going to try to keep up the once a week plan for updating, but I don't know if I'll be able to completely keep it up, as I have only got a few chapters ready to go. Though, if all goes well I'll get the next chapters completed in the weeks it takes to update those ones. :-)
> 
> To everyone who's been on this journey, welcome back, to anyone who may have just discovered the journey, if you haven't already you might want to go read Part 1 (Koi no Yokan) so you understand who the players in this little tale are.
> 
> Enjoy my loves

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
** **Prologue  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
Her name was Mary Stuart. **  
**  
It had become a litany as she waited through the weeks until her final day upon this Earth. **  
**  
Her father was James Stuart, the last King of Scotland. Her son would be its next King once her spirit had left its mortal shell. **  
**  
She had been a Queen practically from birth. Never given a choice. She had tried to be a good Queen, she did not know if she had succeeded. She could go to the Lord with her conscious clear, that she had at least tried her best. If her best wasn't enough, she was only human, not divine. **  
**  
She had been another Queen once, by marriage, by choice. She would have gladly stayed in that lovely country of her childhood, stayed their monarch until her dying breath. **  
**  
Fate hadn't been kind to them though. Fate had deemed that her sweet golden haired beloved should go be an angel, instead of the King he was born to be. **  
**  
She was Mary Stuart, and she had one great love of her life. A love stolen away far too soon. She had loved others, never as much as she loved him. She hadn't been able to fulfill his last dying wish, her Francis who prayed she might love again as strongly as she loved him. It was foolhardy of him, to pray she could love another as she had him. You only got a chance at a great, true, amazing, love like theirs once in a life… if at all. **  
**  
She had never loved another with the intensity, that all-consuming passion she had held for her first love. She had opened her heart to others but never given it all. **  
**  
Gideon had offered her a place to trust her broken, bleeding heart, enough to allow it to stop bleeding. Dear, sweet, loyal Bash had sutured the slashes, he might have been able to fully heal it had he stayed with her… She would never know. He had left to train with the Druids, and she had never laid eyes on him again. **  
**  
She tried to love her second husband. She had been infatuated with him. He had seemed perfect, and in terms of a marriage candidate, he _was_ perfect. So, she had married Henry, before she loved him, and love had been developing in her heart… how could you not grow to love the good man who slept beside you, gave you a child, supported you? Then he had changed, his darker side emerging, and the small flame had flickered out, turning to hate. She had wanted her marriage ended but hadn't dreamed of resorting to violence. It had been a relief that he was gone, but, unlike what her subjects believed, she had not been part of it. **  
**  
James had been the mastermind. James who wanted her throne, and did whatever necessary to become a King. She had married James to save her honor, to keep her son breathing, to not let the child growing in her womb be a bastard as an added sin considering how it was conceived. Twin girls who hadn't needed her attempt to legitimize them in the end. She had saved her son at least, by marrying that spawn of darkness. **  
**  
Even Narcisse hadn't been as bad as James. It had brought her a small measure of joy, that he died in prison. Far from the palaces and wealth, he coveted. **  
**  
She too had such a fate before her. A Queen by birth, stripped of her title by a jealous cousin not wanting to admit she may have been wrong. **  
**  
Her name was Mary Stuart. **  
**  
She was just a girl again. She secretly prayed she might see him again, who had let her be just a girl so long ago. That they might get to be just a girl, just a boy, together once more. **  
**  
She held onto faith that the Lord was the merciful father they were led to believe, and that he would let her see Francis again.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2019

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
****Chapter 1  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**October 18th, 2017  
  
Dearest Rosie,  
  
I know we talk often via Skype with your wedding plans, but I realized I miss the writing we used to do, so here I sit after a long day when I should be sleeping, writing you.  
  
I'm making up for lost months since we always joked these would be found by our great grandchildren someday and they would learn about the lives of their American cousin in your case.  
  
It's October. Halloween is coming and I'm planning to just be a witch for school. I love my seventh graders that I'm working with for my internship as Andrew calls it. Laura is a wonderful teacher, I feel so lucky to have her as my teacher. She's got the patience of a saint, not just for the students but for me. And it's wonderful having someone else to talk to who loves history as I do.  
  
Work at Peet’s is familiar and easy. Andrew has finally come to terms with my bike riding after work. He isn't happy but he's dealing. Overprotective pain in the butt.  
  
Good news, we got our tickets booked for December. I'm flying out with Mom on Monday, arriving Tuesday. Andrew is going to arrive Wednesday. Forgive me, I'll be bringing work with me, after the break I'm supposed to be fully teaching two days a week on my own, and my lesson plan is due for Laura to evaluate when we return.  
  
I'm going to go, as sleep is becoming a larger demand.  
  
Love,  
Mary  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Sunday, November 21st, 2017  
****Irvine, California  
****9:42 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**_She was jolted out of her dream by what sounded like the slamming of a door, except she knew in that particular memory her door hadn't been slammed shut, nor had they even gotten out of the hall yet when she woke up.  
  
__Blinking into the darkness of the room, she waited, listening to the silence only to hear a muttered curse, in French, from the other room. Rising, she walked to the doorway and flipped on the light, blinking away the pain from the sudden glow to stare at Andrew trying to gather Monopoly pieces in the dark.  
  
_“ _Do I want to understand?” she asked with a smile.  
  
__Andrew looked up at her sheepishly, "Mom's rearranged since I last snuck in here in the dark. Forgot the end table was here…”  
  
_“ _Sneak in here often?” she raised an eyebrow, enjoying the flush that tinted his cheeks and ears.  
  
_“ _I was a stupid teenage boy once,” he admitted.  
  
__Rosemary laughed lightly, "Another similarity to the past, you are far too good looking for your own good. Tell me your mother never caught you here like Catherine and the boathouse?"  
  
__Andrew chuckled, “No, I was safe from Mom, it was Dad who caught me, putting an end to my sneaking in here at eighteen. Course it had only started four months earlier, so I wasn't as bad as in France."  
  
_“ _See, you matured,” she teased, crossing the room to help him straighten up.  
  
_“ _I didn't mean to wake you quite this rudely,” he waved a hand to the mess.  
  
_“ _It's alright, you stopped my dream before I had to live the awkwardness of our consummation again," she shrugged as she picked up Serenity and put it in its box.  
  
__Andrew paused in putting the bundle of money in a box, raising his eyes to hers, his voice tight with emotion, exactly what though she wasn’t sure, "You were dreaming about our wedding night?”  
  
_“ _Wedding day actually,” she corrected softly, “the ceremony, our reception, the memorable fight with my mother… we had just separated to get ready when your crash woke me.”_    
  
_He nodded his head slowly, returning to the task of picking up his mess.  
  
_“ _So…” she began, watching him carefully and not sure why he looked suddenly farther away than he had two minutes before, "What brings you to my temporary abode so early in the day?”  
  
_“ _Well, I was coming to see if you wanted to go for a ride…” he admitted, looking up at her with a small smile, some of the tension around his eyes gone.  
  
__She blinked several times before her eyes widened as she stared at him, "Andrew, I haven’t been on a horse in this life, I don’t know_ ** _how_** _to ride…”  
  
_“ _Yes, I know,” he nodded, “And I figured why don’t we change that today.”  
  
_“ _I’m really,_ ** _really_** _lost,” she admitted.  
  
_“ _I know,” he grinned, whatever dark mood he seemed to have developing disappearing completely. “Go, get dressed. Wear pants and a light jacket, the morning chill hasn’t left yet. Meet me down at the barn and we’ll clean this up when we get back, alright?”  
  
__She nodded slowly, carefully rising with his help and turning to go back to the bedroom where her suitcase was. "Andrew,” she called, just as she reached her room and he was rising, “You’re crazy, you know that right?”  
  
_“ _You have_ ** _no_** _idea,” he answered with a smirk. “Fifteen minutes, okay?”  
  
_“ _Okay,” she agreed, mentally thinking she was probably the crazier one for not arguing this.  
  
__Fifteen minutes later she was arriving at the barn by the increasing light of dawn. She spotted Andrew easily, next to the Clydesdale she had been shown the day before. As she walked up, she couldn't help teasing, "In fifteen minutes you only got a bridle on one horse… I remember things going faster at the stables in France…”  
  
__Andrew chuckled as she walked closer, "Oh, we've been waiting on you actually._ ** _We're_** _ready to go…”  
  
__She blinked, looked around again, "Andrew, there's only one horse and said horse has no saddle.”  
  
_“ _That's because Maple can ride bareback. And she is large enough to support two for easy rides.”  
  
_“ _Come again?” she looked between him and the horse that towered over her.  
  
_“ _Do you trust me?” he asked instead of answering. She focused on him and nodded slowly. “Okay," he smiled, taking her hand and leading her over to a stepping block. She somehow wasn't surprised to see the horse follow them over, stepping, almost as if expected, in front of the block and coming to a halt. Rosemary looked back at Andrew, and he nodded to the steps.  
  
_“ _I fall and break my neck, you get to explain this to_ ** _everyone_** _.”  
  
_“ _You won't fall,” he laughed as she climbed the steps, his hand raising with hers until she reached the top, finding herself easily able to raise a leg up and over the horse's back. "Scoot forward towards her neck, and take the reins,” he instructed as he moved around to climb the steps himself.  
  
__She did as instructed, half afraid to look down and process how far off the ground she was seated on an animal with a mind of its own. She remembered loving the act of riding, and while she still thought horses were amazingly beautiful creatures, a memory of a lifetime riding did not automatically give someone confidence.  
  
_“ _Breathe,” Andrew whispered in her ear, and she was surprised to realize she hadn't even processed him getting on behind her. "Come here,” he continued after she took a breath, and his arm snaked around her waist to pull her back so her back rested lightly against his chest. “Just keep breathing,” he spoke with an obvious smile in his voice. His hands slid along her arms to grasp the reins above her own hands, and with a click of his tongue Maple started moving towards the open gate.  
  
__She couldn't help but tense as they started moving, grateful the horse seemed unaffected by her jumpiness, but between Andrew's soft words of encouragement, the easy nature of the horse and the amazing landscape as they slowly made their way downhill, she found herself relaxing and enjoying the ride. The watched the sunrise behind them as they worked their way to the coast, painting the sky in front of them in a beautiful array of pinks, oranges, and blues.  
  
__They didn't go all the way to the water, stopping at another small bluff looking over the remaining landscape between them and the Pacific Ocean.  
  
_“ _It's beautiful,” Rosemary spoke as they continued to watch the sky change color.  
  
_“ _It's one of my favorite things, to watch the sunrise here. It's so peaceful, for a moment it feels like I'm the only person for miles."  
  
_“ _Like it was back then,” she smiled up at him, tilting her head back so she could see his face.  
  
_“ _I think that's part of it,” Andrew agreed with a smile, then tilted his own head down to kiss the tip of her nose. "I have a question for you,” he asked as he straightened up.  
  
_“ _What's that?” she asked, letting her head rest on his shoulder.  
  
_“ _Would you marry me?”  
  
__Her eyes shot to his face, trying to gauge his mood as his question settled over her, and she saw the way he watched her intently, so she simply blinked once before straightening up. Sliding further towards Maple’s neck, she slowly started to shift so she could turn herself more towards him while her mind raced, jumping from thought to thought, shock to amazement to understanding.  
  
__Andrew frowned, then quickly reached out to steady her when he apparently processed what she was doing, frown slipping as an anxious look overtook him. Between the two of them, and her sometimes scary ability to maneuver herself, she got her right leg raised up and over the horse's neck as she grazed on the ground in front of them and had shifted so she was pretty much side saddle looking at him. Her mind had slowed as she settled, needing to make sure she understood him as she squashed down the desperate excitement she hadn't expected, from trying to burst out of her.  
  
_“ _Now that I'm not afraid talking will make you fall,” Andrew began slowly, releasing a long breath, "_ ** _What_** _the_ ** _hell_** _?” he growled at her, his hands not yet releasing their firm grip on her waist.  
  
_“ _I wanted to see you better,” she explained with a small shrug, her hands resting on the horse's back between them.  
  
_“ _You are_ ** _so_** _lucky she's the damn gentlest horse I've_ ** _ever_** _seen,” he muttered, slowly relaxing his death grip.  
  
_“ _If you hadn't_ ** _told_** _me that yesterday_ ** _and_** _I hadn't seen it proven today, I_ ** _wouldn't_** _have tried it,” she admitted. “Now then,” she nodded slowly, “did_ ** _you_** _just ask me to marry you?” she asked softly. “I didn't imagine that, right?”  
  
__Andrew sighed, glancing away as he answered, “I asked if you_ ** _would_** _marry me.”  
  
__Rosemary frowned, more confused than she had been before this point in their already sometimes confusing relationship, "Meaning?” she trailed off, watching him as he frowned, his gaze moving to the ocean behind her.  
  
_“ _Meaning, if the last two years had gone differently if I hadn't walked away, or hadn't stayed away very long, either way. If we had the last two years together instead of apart, and I were to ask you to marry me… would you?”  
  
__Rosemary shook her head, hand raising to brush along his jaw. "Andrew…”  
  
_“ _I know, it's stupid to ask what ifs,” he interjected, and she watched as he started to shut down.  
  
_“ _Andrew…” she tried again.  
  
_“ _Don't worry, just forget I asked.”  
  
_“ ** _Andrew_** _…” she started again, moving her hand quickly to cover his mouth as it opened, “My turn," she shot him a dark look, and he swallowed, his eyes widening, before finally nodding once. “Good,” she muttered, moving her hand back to his cheek. “Ask me again,” she instructed softly.  
  
__Andrew frowned before she reached up to rub away the line between his eyebrows. She watched him take a breath, then visibly relax, "Would you marry me?”  
  
_“ _Yes,” she answered simply, watching his mouth drop open, “Yes, if the last two years had gone differently, if we had somehow found our way back to each other sooner… yes, I would marry you. However, even if we had gotten engaged after graduation, the wedding would have had to wait until after I finished my year in Irvine…”  
  
__Andrew just blinked repeatedly at her, and she couldn't help but smile at his flabbergasted expression. "Wait,_ ** _what_** _?” he finally spoke, and she had a moment of satisfaction, that she did to him exactly what he had done to her when he first spoke.  
  
_“ _Now, if you really think you would have asked that question after our graduations,” she began, mentally wondering if she was the one who had lost her mind, "ask me again,” she repeated her earlier instruction.  
  
__Andrew blinked again, simply watching her for several moments. A determined look came over his features, and his hand raised to her face, fingertips trailing along her cheek as he spoke softly, "Rosemary, would you marry me?”  
  
_“ _Yes,” she answered with a small smile, “_ ** _However_** _, I demand an engagement of at least a year,” she added quickly.  
  
__Andrew slowly smiled, then it faded a moment, his head tilting to the side as he looked at her, "Just to clarify, that's a real yes, not a hypothetical, right?”  
  
__She couldn't help but laugh, "As crazy as it probably sounds, yes it's a_ ** _real_** _yes.”  
  
__Andrew's grin was back, and a moment later he was pulling her closer, capturing her lips with his own. She couldn't help but melt at the familiar feeling, familiar from a lifetime ago, and was struggling for oxygen when he pulled away from her. Seeing him as out of breath as her sent a little jolt of satisfaction through her, even as she wound her arms around him and snuggled into him. She knew they'd probably have to talk later, about things like kisses, but right now she was content to shut her brain off and let her heart lead.  
  
_“ _So…”Andrew began after a few minutes of comfortable silence, his head resting atop hers, "if we just got engaged like I think we did, I know it means we have to tell people…”  
  
_“ _That's going to be interesting,” she mumbled, imagining her mother’s reaction. “Do you think your family will take it well?" she looked up at him curiously.  
  
_“ _I think my family will be ecstatic, and my mother will happily start planning an engagement party for whenever we agree to have it," he admitted with a slightly sheepish expression.  
  
_“ _Oh God,” Rosemary groaned, burying her head in his chest again.  
  
_“ _Look at it this way, we’ll probably have everything we ever need for a house after,” he pointed out with a chuckle.  
  
_“ _True,” she whispered against his chest, “do we have to tell them now?”  
  
__Andrew was quiet for several minutes, and she pulled her head back to look at him, "No,” he began finally, staring out at the ocean while he thought. “I think we should wait, at least until we figure out a few more things… And I take care of one very important thing,” he looked down at her finally. She must have had her confusion written all over her face, as he simply smiled and reached down to pick up her left hand and press his lips to her ring finger.  
  
_“ _Oh…” she squeaked, “I uh… I hadn’t thought about that…”  
  
_“ _Obviously,” he chuckled. “Come on, we have a bunch of board games to pick up still…"  
  
_“ _That we do,” she agreed with a smile. Squeezing his hand, she started shifting back to face the front of the horse, not surprised in the least at his intake of breath followed by his hands quickly finding her waist again. She didn’t bother trying to get her leg up and over the horse’s head, instead staying in her side-saddle setup, just facing forward so she could hold the reins with him again, though one of his hands slipped along her waist instead of taking the reins.  
  
_“ _You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” he whispered into her ear.  
  
_“ _Nope,” she couldn’t help but giggle, “Just didn’t want to go back, backward."  
  
_“ _Crazy woman.”  
  
_“ _You’re the one wanting to marry me,” she countered, finding an unexpected giddiness filling her after she said it. "Oh God, we really did just get engaged didn’t we?”  
  
_“ _Yes…” Andrew trailed off, waiting for her to say more as he turned Maple back towards the house.  
  
_“ _It just hit me, that’s all,” she glanced back at him, “Happy, very happy,” she explained, before falling silent a moment. People are going to think we’re insane…”  
  
_“ _Do you care?” his eyebrow quirked as he looked at her.  
  
_“ _For the most part, not really,” she admitted, “I’m just not looking forward to a few confrontations that I’m expecting.”  
  
_“ _Well, we’ll get through them together,” he promised, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "Starting with your mother.”  
  
_Rosemary rolled over, blinking at the cat curled up on the other pillow.  
  
That was a first.  
  
She had dreamed so often about their lives in France, her life in Scotland and England, never about the events of the life she currently lived.  
  
They had kept the engagement secret for five months now, from everyone except her cousin and Sasha.  
  
Neither had felt right, not letting Sasha in on their secret. She already kept all their secrets as she accepted and believed their beliefs about who they had once been. And her dear, crazy, sweet cousin Rose had put two and two together in August thanks to Andrew's craziness.  
  
His sweet, wonderful, insanity...  
  
Andrew had given her a ring three weeks after their morning on the bluff. It was a puzzle ring with four interlocking silver bands, giving the impression of Celtic knots; with a marquise cut blue diamond that was three-fourths of a carat - for which she had declared him insane. She had loved it, and while it fit her left ring finger perfectly, had taken to wearing it on a chain beneath her shirt until they were ready to reveal the engagement to their family and friends. It was amusing, the four bands had, of course, slipped apart on the chain and reminded her of bells as she moved.  
  
Then, on the one month anniversary of their engagement, he had given her another ring. That one had been a posey ring, the first in what had become a long line of one-month anniversary gifts.  
  
July’s had been a reproduction of a poesy ring from 14th century France, it was white gold with an oval chain around the outside and engraved on the inside of the band was ‘ _de m’amour soiez suve_ ’, her mind instantly translating the promise that she should be sure of his love.  
  
It had been sweet, a lovely throwback to their first life, and she had happily worn it on her middle finger of her left hand with no one the wiser to what their relationship had become or where the ring had even come from.  
  
Then another had come in August, this one a rose gold reproduction of a 16th century English ring, with the promise ‘ _Faithles to none, yet faithful to one_ ’ inside and the engravings on the band looked like a hand holding a heart.  
  
It was after she had one ring on her middle finger, and one on her pinkie finger, that Rose had spotted them while talking Rose’s wedding plans on Skype and immediately called her out.  
  
She had tried to play dumb and promptly been reminded why she had failed drama in middle school.  
  
Thankfully, her cousin had understood the desire to not want to inform Maryanne Douglas of her only daughter’s engagement.  
  
Maryanne and Andrew’s first meeting hadn’t gone overly well.  
  
They had driven up to Napa after his graduation party, enjoying a quiet day wandering the built-up area of downtown Napa before meeting her mother at one of her favorite Italian restaurants. Maryanne had accepted the choice in the restaurant, but in hindsight, Rosemary knew she should have probably picked one of her mother’s favorite restaurants instead of her own. The dinner had gone far from ‘good’, as Maryanne quizzed Andrew about his plans for life, and was very passive aggressive in revealing her hurt that her daughter had remained out of contact for close to a year. Maryanne hadn’t been overly hostile towards Andrew but had made a few comments throughout the meal that gave no doubt she believed her daughter had run off to England to avoid the heartbreak that had been entirely his fault.  
  
Rosemary had been incredibly grateful that Andrew had held his tongue, acknowledging his mistakes in letting his education and family issues keep him from fixing things sooner, the latter having quickly been corrected by her both to him and her mother as being something that demanded his full attention. Her mother had thankfully acknowledged the sad circumstances and apologized, even though Andrew had quietly admitted on the ride home that he wasn’t entirely sure she meant it as an apology that his sister had dealt with cancer, or an apology that she had accused him.  
  
Rosemary hadn’t had the heart that night to tell him she was pretty sure his first theory was correct. Even if he had good reasons, and Maryanne Douglas acknowledged them to a degree, her mother was likely to hold a grudge against Andrew rather than admit that her daughter had been in a bad place and hadn’t wanted to talk to her. It was easier for her mother to not always see the truth, than face the fact their relationship was nowhere near what Maryanne wanted it to be.  
  
Since that first meeting between her love and mother, she had talked to her mother once a week, and Maryanne seemed to be warming up to Andrew as she had shared stories of the sweet things he did to make her smile, even if it was something as simple as flowers once a month to brighten up her apartment or the weekly dinner he would take her too after her long shift on Saturday at Peet’s. She hadn’t made the trip north to see her mother since she moved to Irvine to prepare for her accelerated teaching course, having last seen her mother at her own graduation ceremonies in Santa Cruz, and thus hadn’t made Andrew and her mother exist in the same place since that same day.  
  
She dreaded the next time they were around each other...  
  
Rose had been one of her sounding boards as to the frustration of things with her mother, and the concern for how things would go when they all went to England for Rose’s wedding.  
  
Maryanne Douglas also had quite strong opinions about being left out of the family trust, so Rose’s wedding had the potential of being a ticking time bomb. Maryanne didn’t understand, as one of the two remaining lines of their family, why she didn’t get a share simply because her father was the younger son and didn’t inherit based on English inheritance laws, and her cousin was male so the family inheritance stayed with him instead of being split between her Uncle’s heirs and her father’s heirs. Maryanne had insisted, however, on going to her cousin’s daughter’s wedding, especially upon hearing her own Grandmother, whom both Rosemary and Rose Lynn were named for, had returned from Australia.  
  
Thankfully she had a month roughly until she had to deal with that dreaded flight.  
  
She was incredibly grateful they weren't sitting together on the long flight across the Atlantic. Maybe it would buy her time to hide the plethora of rings from her mother, or at least put her mother off until Christmas.  
  
They had decided they would reveal their engagement at Christmas, which was to be spent with her distant family. Rose and Richard would be on their honeymoon then, but since Rose already knew… And at least she’d have her Great-Grandmother, her Second Uncle, and her Second Grand Aunt and Second Grand Uncle around to hopefully keep her mother quiet if she objected. Rose had filled her in on the craziness of proper names for the relationships in the family back when she was on her way to meet Rose’s father while she had been attending school in Brighton, explaining that Rose’s father Colin was technically Rosemary’s Second Uncle, and his parents were her Second Grand Aunt and Uncle - aka her own mother’s Aunt and Uncle. Mercifully, when she met Rose’s father he had insisted she simply call him Uncle Colin and explained he was fairly certain his parents would love if she called them Uncle Arthur and Aunt Joan. It certainly made talking easier, even if the British were so proper.  
  
They would be flying home the day after Christmas, all three on the same flight to L.A. where her mother would have a layover then continue on to Oakland. From there the two of them would return to their separate homes for a few days, then she would go spend New Year’s Eve and Day with Andrew’s family, where they planned to reveal the engagement to his family.  
  
And, if Andrew’s theory was to be believed, they’d probably have Claudia start discussing engagement parties before the beginning of 2018.  
  
Part of her had wanted to put it off longer, but Andrew’s sweet monthly remembrance of the day they were engaged was making it harder to avoid questions.  
  
September has seen a white gold ring for her left thumb, another 16th-century reproduction from England, referencing what was her favorite of Shakespeare’s sonnets: ‘ _In thy brest my hart doth rest_ ’ on the inner band, and scrolls alternating with interlocking hearts adorning the outside. October had brought what she thought was the last ring for her left hand - the first posey ring that wasn’t a reproduction - this one had been yellow gold and inscribed ‘ _il mio cuore el il tuo per sempre_ ’ bringing her memories of Italian forward as her brain had translated the phrase ‘my heart is yours forever’.  
  
However, Andrew had surprised her two weeks before with a second ring for her left pointer finger. The one from October had small irises engraved on the outside, her life as Mary giving her the recognition of the flower that had truly inspired what was the crest of the French Kings and Queens. This month, she had received an almost identical ring, with a daisy chain along the outside and the Latin phrase ‘ _semper amemus_ ’ - ‘our love is forever’. Both had been significantly thinner than the previous ones, and in hindsight, she should have known that something was up.  
  
She had simply looked at him and finally asked if he was trying to test how many languages she actually remembered.  
  
Andrew’s bark of laughter hadn’t exactly been an answer, but she had simply shaken her head and accepted her love for who he was… which was, she was learning, a crazy person.  
  
With one entire hand filled with rings, except for a very obvious finger, she figured she’d have to fess up. Especially before he most likely started on her ring-free hand… And to try to put all six rings on her necklace was simply ridiculous… she had tried it and it was incredibly uncomfortable to have the cluster of rings caught between her breasts.  
  
The ringing of her phone pulled her out of her half-awake mental wanderings, and she reached over to pick it up. "Hey Mom,” she greeted while throwing back the covers. “How are you?”  
  
Tea, she needed tea this morning. And chocolate…  
  
Heading to the kitchen she listened as her mom ranted about her co-workers, mentally plotting for a pot of tea and maybe raiding her batch of white chocolate raspberry scones.  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Sunday, December 3rd, 2017  
****Irvine, California  
****11:12 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Rosemary was ecstatic to finally be riding home. Not that she particularly felt up to the ride home per se… The truth was she was exhausted and she had an early morning the next day, so the sooner she was home, the happier she would be.  
  
Pulling into the apartment complex, she carefully maneuvered down the paths towards her studio apartment, watching out for anyone else who might be out and about this time of night going to the laundry room or just getting around.  
  
She should have been surprised to see a light on in her apartment when she approached the deck of her lower level home, but she wasn't. She should have known he would be up to something, even though she was working this month, even though he logically should have headed back to his parent’s house, where he was temporarily living in the pool house for some sense of separation between parents and child, when she left for work.  
  
She was still exhausted, but the thought of extra time with him gave her the same small burst of happy energy she always seemed to get when around him. Maybe, just maybe, she could make it to midnight before crashing...  
  
Unlocking her gate, she took her bike inside and locked it to the table as she did every night just to be safe. Opening the front door, she smiled when she heard the familiar meow.  
  
"Hello my loves,” she greeted as her cat appeared, then reached down to meet Smokey halfway as he stretched up her leg, reaching up for her while vocally making his bid for attention known. Straightening with the cat in arms, she scratched at his ear, murmuring to the feline who was happily curling into her arms glad to have her home. Being able to have Smokey with her again was one of her happiest pros of living in Irvine as she finished her education, she had missed her companion in arms the years she had been at Santa Cruz and Brighton.  
  
She made her way through the living area of her studio apartment, dropping her bag off near the couch, then turned to head towards the kitchen Andrew was busy humming away while something wonderful smelling drifted through the apartment. Dropping a kiss to Smokey’s head, she dropped him off on the cat tree, then crossed over to the counter between the living area and the kitchen, leaning on the countertop to watch him as he worked.  
  
She couldn’t help but smile, enjoying the familiar ease with which he functioned in her house, and more importantly the fact she was so comfortable with him _in_ her space. Easing herself up onto one of the two stools at the counter, she just watched, waiting for him to realize she was there as he was lost in the music of his headphones and hadn’t turned to look towards the rest of the house yet as he did something at her oven, something that smelled suspiciously like his mother’s amazing baked pears with vanilla sauce which she had fallen in love with when she had tagged along to his parents’ Halloween Party.  
  
His sister had been highly amused when they showed up dressed in what she declared was absolutely amazing period dress.  
  
Sasha hadn’t been able to resist giving them something that they might have worn in their first life and had them made as a Halloween gift when Andrew had extended an invite to his parents’ famous Halloween soiree to her friends so their two groups of friends might meet and hopefully get along enough that the two of them would never have to choose between their own friends. The idea had worked splendidly, and in the end, Andrew had given up his current home so that a massive monopoly party could be held between his circle of ten and her circle of four. They had followed monopoly up with a semi version of Mad Quao with those still semi-coherent at three in the morning. And the entire thing was declared a success when both sets of friends declared the other collection easy to be around.  
  
She and Andrew had shared a smile of relief that any combination of their friends could survive around each other in the years to come.  
  
Andrew turned around finally and took half a step back before a smile lit his face. One hand reached up to pull the wireless earbuds out even as he stepped towards the counter. "Hi, you.”  
  
“Hi, you,” she smiled back, letting her chin rest on both of her hands, “Shouldn’t you be on the coast by now?"  
  
“Well, I thought I might steal your futon tonight and just drive to work in the morning since I ended up getting here later than planned this morning."  
  
Rosemary glanced over her shoulder at the futon couch behind her, then looked back at him, "You did huh?”  
  
“I did,” he echoed, eyebrow raising, “Is that a problem?”  
  
She fought a smile as long as she could, before letting out a small breath of a chuckle, "Why do you think I bought that thing in the first place?” she admitted with a smile.  
  
“Hah,” Andrew smacked his hand against the countertop as his eyes lit with triumph, “Only took you four months to admit it."  
  
“Sue me,” she countered with a shrug.  
  
Andrew’s nose wrinkled up and he shook his head before leaning across the counter, "Nah, rather kiss you,” he answered with a smile forming.  
  
Rosemary smiled back, then leaned forward to press her lips to his. Since their one, really breathtaking, kiss on Maple the day they got engaged they hadn’t tried any more intense sessions like that. Andrew had gone back to letting her set the pace so to speak, though simple kisses had become a common occurrence. With their two very busy schedules, her schooling and work and his entry-level position at an engineering firm, they didn’t get as much time together as they would have liked. So their time was usually spent simply being together, enjoying the same activities they had before their break, and slowly talking about some of the things she was working through in therapy that she attended once a week. Their relationship was stronger on an emotional level, but the physical hadn’t progressed a whole hell of a lot.  
  
At this point, she wasn’t sure if it was her holding them back, or him.  
  
“So,” Andrew began as he stepped back, “Since we didn’t have as much time this morning as I wanted before you had to go to work, I thought we could celebrate tonight. Don't worry, I planned a short celebration knowing your schedule and ours tomorrow."  
  
She fought back a chuckle, she had so known something was going to be done today, "Celebrate what?” she managed to ask nonchalant, knowing full well it was six months since they got engaged and he hadn’t given her something like he had every month previously.  
  
He just gave her a look that screamed ‘really?’, and she knew her attempt at playing dumb was pointless.  
  
“Alright, alright,” she laughed while rising from the stool, “I’m going to get changed, get the smell of coffee off me real quick. You finish whatever celebration you have planned."  
  
“Fifteen minutes,” he called after her as she headed towards the steps up to the bedroom area of the studio so she could get to the bathroom where she had left her pajamas that morning knowing she’d want a shower to get rid of the coffee smell.  
  
“Fifteen minutes,” she echoed.  
  
He was as bad about surprises and marking anniversaries in this life as he had been as Francis… She figured she probably should be grateful she hadn’t come home to find her entire apartment covered in candles and posing a fire hazard with Smokey about.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves,
> 
> Forgive me, it's been a crazy week, including eight hours helping my niece do an English essay today on how Scrooge transformed during A Christmas Carol... (nothing like your ADHD Dyslexic niece getting a five paragraph essay, and now she is plotting to find a way to have me accessible on Skype when she's at her dad's and he won't help her with English lol). Needless to say, craziness, that's been the week, so I haven't gotten a chance to respond to any review. I know you guys are there, I will respond, just need a chance to get through tomorrow's History guided readings...
> 
> Sadly, she's nowhere near Mary or Francis, that would be more amusing when helping her with History lol
> 
> Hope you guys like the latest tidbit from Rosemary and Andrew's life...

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
** **Chapter 2  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
**  
**Monday, December 4th, 2017  
** **Irvine, California  
** **4:16 a.m.  
**

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
** _She still couldn’t help but feel guilty, as she walked from the carriage to the chapel on the grounds, knowing she had hurt Bash as badly as she had. **  
  
**_ _She hoped he wouldn’t be inside, not sure she would be able to marry Francis in front of Bash. **  
  
**_ _Not that she didn’t want to marry Francis, she truly did, but to do it with Bash there watching, was just too much. And she knew Henry would not understand her delaying the wedding again. **  
  
**_ _She waited inside as her three remaining friends fluffed her dress, and the length of lace that fell from her head, one more time, watched them fall into place behind her before she nodded to the guards standing at the doors. **  
  
**_ _The doors opened, she saw the two small gatherings on either side of the center aisle, saw Francis look up to where she stood. She couldn’t stop a smile as she saw his, and everything else fell away for now as she started towards him, eager to do what they had meant to do weeks ago, if it hadn’t been for Nostradamus’ predictions. She stepped up next to him, and together they knelt before the Priest, her hand resting in Francis’. **  
  
**_ _The words were a familiar blur of Latin, half her attention on Francis and the slight movement of his finger against her skin. Then the altar boy was stepping forward with the marriage contract for them to sign, she couldn't help a moment of fear, knowing there wasn't time to read everything that had been written in, knowing that once she signed this top one she would have to sign whatever else there was after. She looked back for her mother as she took the quill after Francis signed, saw Marie nod, and put her faith in a mother who Mary wanted to believe loved her enough to protect her after spending last night with Henry discussing the contracts. She signed her name, in the French style as she had been taught, and placed the quill down, returning her hands to their previous positions. Francis caught hers quickly and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were in this together, she knew that, had to remember it and let everything else go. **  
  
**_ _The rest of the ceremony was a blur, prayers and communion, and finally, the Priest was done and Francis was helping her rise and turn to those gathered who were clapping politely. Francis sent her a warm smile, and they walked together where the rest of the contract waited, all the copies, as those gathered slipped away. **  
  
**_ _They were mostly silent as they worked on the endless repetition of their signatures, sharing secret smiles. It wasn't until Francis helped her into the carriage that it truly set in, she truly processed the fact they were married. **  
  
**_“ _Francis…” she breathed as he sat down beside her, whatever else she might have said was lost as he captured her lips with his, his hands delicately framing her jaw as he loved to do. **  
  
**_ _She felt the carriage start moving, but it was a secondary realization as she was lost in the way his mouth moved over hers. "Mary, my Mary,” he whispered as his lips trailed across her cheek to where the earrings her father had given her mother rested against her skin. **  
  
**_“ _I love you,” she whispered, raising her hand to tangle her fingers in his curls. **  
  
**_ _Francis pulled back, framed her face with his hands, "I love_ **_you_** _,” he spoke softly, evenly, “I am so thankful that we are here. That you are still mine, and I’m still yours.” **  
  
**_ _Mary smiled, reaching up to trail her fingers along his jaw, "Always Francis, always yours.” **  
  
**_ _Francis grinned, leaned forward to capture her lips again as the carriage made its way from the chapel to the castle. When they reached the castle, they showed no signs of their frantic kisses. Francis climbed out of the carriage first, helping Mary down once he was steady on the ground. He took her hand and they made their way into the castle, somehow laughing and as joyful as they had been when he asked her to marry him the first time. When they approached the ballroom, the guards opened the door so they could enter. **  
  
**_ _As they moved into the room, they were showered in falling petals. Mary looked at Francis and smiled, remembering the feathers at his sister’s wedding. He simply smiled back and pulled her to the center of the room that had a table to either side along the long wall laden with food and other things. Her attention was admittedly more focused on him as he spun her around to face him, then stepped forward to rest his forehead against hers a moment as the music began to play. **  
  
**_ _He stepped back far too soon in her opinion, bowed at the waist as she sunk to the ground in a curtsy, before he started them on the familiar steps of a dance they had learned together as children in this very room. She sensed others falling into step around them as the petals still fell, but didn’t bother looking. Even if she had wanted to draw her attention from her love, and why would she, he pulled her back too quickly from a spin into his arms and she couldn’t help laughing happily. **  
  
**_ _She didn’t know how many songs had played when they had to leave the dance space and mingle amongst the guests. **  
  
**_ _She and Francis made the rounds, seeing this person and that and thanking them for coming to their wedding, listened to well wishes and ignored the occasional looks and comments said by someone off to the side. She had to catch Francis’ eyes more than once, to stop him from doing something. She knew they’d have to have a long talk, probably more than one, while they were gone on their honeymoon trip. She knew that this brief moment of pure happiness wouldn’t stop the need to fix things between them, but if he went off on some noble, well that would certainly not do either. Henry would probably never forgive either of them if a scene was made at their wedding by one of them. **  
  
**_ _She had escaped the necessary talking, was finally getting a chance to grab some of the dishes the kitchen had provided, when her mother appeared at her side. **  
  
**_“ _I have some news to share,” Marie de Guise began quietly, all smiles yet her tone was dropped so no one else might overhear, "Turns out the English Queen isn’t dead after all.” **  
  
**_ _Mary turned her head slightly to fully look at her mother, shock at the words momentarily robbing her mind from truly processing what her mother was saying, "The English Queen is_ **_alive_ ** _?” **  
  
**_“ _Catherine’s aware, but I would keep the news to yourself,” Marie continued, and her nonchalance helped Mary’s brain start to truly process everything. **  
  
**_“ _You did this,” she looked at her mother in amazement, “To see me married.” **  
  
**_ _Her mind started racing, realizing what would happen when Henry learned the truth, they would need to make their honeymoon trip as long as they could to buy time for Henry to get over this deceit. She stared at her mother as she fully became aware of how little her mother cared, this plan of her mother and new father-in-law’s didn't put them at risk, it was merely her own life in the balance, her head… **  
  
**_ _And here her mother was speeding it up. **  
  
**_“ _The messenger's news was flawed,” Marie pointed out like a child declaring they had broken a toy of little consequence to them. "No one could blame that on me,_ **_or_ ** _you.” **  
  
**_ _Mary could appreciate her mother's art, her ability to cover herself and make it sound like she cared about her daughter, except she was done falling for fake declarations of caring from a woman who obviously only saw her youngest child as a means to an end. **  
  
**_“ _Everyone needs a_ **_little_ ** _push on occasion._ **_Even_ ** _queens... Even_ **_France_ ** _,” Marie continued on in her explanations, “All happiness comes with a price. And you paid_ **_yours_ ** _with another's broken heart.” **  
  
**_“ _Sebastian…” she breathed, realizing her mother must have concocted this plan after she explained everything about Sebastian. **  
  
**_“ _Will survive,” Marie added as if finishing Mary's sentence, not realizing the anger growing in her daughter. **  
  
**_ _She had a moment to gather her thoughts, and was just about to say something when Greer walked up, "It's time for the consummation,” her friend sounded apologetic for interrupting the conversation, but Mary also saw the concern in her friend's eyes. Another mark against Marie, how little she knew her own daughter, when Mary's closest friends could read her emotions by just looking at her. **  
  
**_ _She focused on her friend, gave a small nod, "A moment, please,” she asked, watched Greer nod and walk off in Francis’ direction, probably to warn him that her mother had upset her somehow, before Mary turned her full attention back to her mother, “Get_ **_out_** _,” she hissed quietly, keeping her voice so only her mother could hear her, “Get out of_ **_my_ ** _life. Get out of France,_ **** _” she added in as controlled a voice she could. **  
  
**_“ _I know you're angry,” Marie began, seeming to not understand just how serious her daughter was, "but you have_ **_everything_ ** _you ever wanted.” **  
  
**_“ _And more power than you,” she pointed out evenly, a moment of satisfaction when her mother's eyes widened, and Marie finally seemed to realize Mary wasn't playing a game. **  
  
**_“ _I'm your mother,” Marie pointed out, as if that meant something, “I am ruling Scotland for you," she continued at Mary's lack of a response. **  
  
**_“ _Do that,” she agreed evenly, “And mind me, do it_ **_well_** _. When I return to Scotland, to_ **_our_ ** _home, it will either be because_ **_you_ ** _have failed, or because you are_ **_dead_ ** _.” **  
  
**_ _She just stared at her mother's shocked face a moment, before walking away towards where her three closest friends stood together, watching with concern in their eyes even if their posture showed nothing. Francis was a few steps away from them, his eyes flicking between her and her mother. She sent him a small smile, hoping to assure him, seeing his small smile in return that didn't take away the worry in his eyes. **  
  
**_ _She would explain everything, but not now. Now she had other things to deal with, like the question of how they would deal with the consummation. **  
  
**_“ _Ready now?” Greer asked softly. **  
  
**_“ _Yes,” she agreed, and the four turned to leave the hall, Francis stepping forward to offer his arm and escort her out, leading the small procession that formed to follow them. **  
  
**_“ _I love you,” Francis whispered as the walked down the hall to where they would separate to go prepare for their consummation in their individual locations. **  
  
**_“ _I love you,” she echoed, squeezing his hand a moment, before slipping her hand from atop his and turning to go to her chambers and change into the gown saved for this night. **  
  
**_Smokey jumping on her jerked her out of her dream memory. Rosemary couldn’t help glaring a moment at the cat as he proceeded to walk off her and over to the second pillow to lay down. **  
  
**“Thanks a lot,” she muttered, thinking back over the dream. Their consummation may have been awkward as hell, but it was the good part, so to speak, of that memory. Releasing a sigh, she threw the blankets aside and went to take a bathroom break, only to realize the door was closed. Instead, she stayed by the sink and took a moment to rinse her face. **  
  
**“Rosemary?” Andrew asked as he opened the door after a few moments, blinking in surprise at her outline lit up by the night light. "I didn’t wake you did I?” he continued, concern coloring his voice. **  
  
**“No, that was Smokey this time,” she couldn’t help but chuckle. She had been having that same dream the morning they got engaged, and here she had it again the morning after he surprised her with a six month engagement anniversary gift. Another ring, this one, finally, for her left hand; it was another puzzle ring that looked like woven strands of rose gold when together, with an amethyst for her flanked by two garnets for him. **  
  
**“This time?” Confusion colored his voice now. **  
  
**She sighed softly, reached over to turn on the light so they could see each other, both blinking at the brightness, "I was remembering again,” she began carefully, watching the way his eyebrows curved towards each other, “Our wedding…” **  
  
**Andrew took a deep breath, then nodded slowly, "The same as the morning I woke you in the pool house?” **  
  
**“Yes,” she agreed, “Thus the ‘this time’ comment.” **  
  
**“Makes sense,” he nodded again, “I’m guessing you were waiting for the restroom since Smokey woke you." **  
  
**“Yeah,” she agreed, noting how he was pulling away in small ways again, just like he had that morning six months before. **  
  
**“Well, it’s all yours,” he sent her a tight smile, probably hoping she wouldn’t notice if she took a guess, and stepped aside. **  
  
**“Thank you,” she smiled warmly, going into the restroom. The light was off when she stepped back out, not that it surprised her, and she paused to rinse her hands off at the sink before drying them and making her way through the dark apartment to where the futon was pulled out to be a bed instead of a couch. She easily made out where he laid and sat down on the edge of the mattress. **  
  
**“Andrew?” she began carefully, watching as he shifted to face her, “What’s wrong?" **  
  
**“Nothing’s wrong,” he answered quickly. **  
  
**“Bullshit,” she countered before shaking her head. “Love, I’m not blind. That morning when you heard what I was dreaming about, you pulled back a bit. Now, you are doing it again… What _is_ it?” she pressed gently, hoping he’d talk. **  
  
**Andrew released a heavy sigh, then shifted to be sitting up against the armrest. "I haven't fully remembered everything about that night or the weeks after,” he began slowly, “I know what happened, that we had the traditional ceremony, and my father forced Bash to watch, I know we had two months on our trip and while we had a lot of good we also had some bad as we dealt with everything," he tilted his head up to look at her. “It's more the fact I knew that knowledge in later dreams, than actually re-living any of it.” **  
  
**She nodded understanding now why he hadn’t said anything in all this time. She momentarily flashed back to her last therapy appointment where Allison pointed out that she might have to be the one to take the bull by the horns so to speak, since she wasn’t sure anymore if Andrew was letting her set the pace only because of her past, or because he was too afraid to upset her, to push her. Turning better to face him, she decided that maybe this was a way to take control, not necessarily of their relationship, but of her own life, for what she wanted, and if it worked like she thought it would… Andrew always said he remembered things as they talked about them… **  
  
**“Well, it might be a good thing. That night wasn't one of our best,” she began with a shrug, brief flashes of far better times spent lost in each other in the bedroom during their first life filling her mind. "You were worried about why I was so upset, but we couldn't talk about it, and we were both very aware of our audience and trying to put on a play for them so no one would suspect I wasn't still a virgin,” she continued, not exactly surprised when his mouth dropped open. "Then, when Bash arrived, I was shocked and felt so guilty, and you knew it when you looked up to my eyes, it's what made you look to see what had my attention,” she admitted, reaching out for his hand. She was relieved when he grasped her hand back, glad to see that he wasn’t upset as far as she could tell. “And then you couldn't help but be ready to kill, neither of us knowing he was bound and forced, _then_ , and when I pulled your attention back to me, you were possessive and determined to make a point to him if he had the audacity to show up" **  
  
**“I played right into Father's hand,” he spoke softly, “Poor Sebastian.” **  
  
**She smiled softly, reached out to brush her knuckles along his cheek, "And that there is half of why I've always loved you,” she spoke, watching his gaze rise to hers. “Your heart Andrew, you have always had such a large heart, so full of compassion.” **  
  
**“I'm not flawless though,” he countered, and she didn't like the tone in his voice, one she remembered too well when Francis was upset with himself. **  
  
**Carefully, she shifted up to her knees and crawled over to kneel next to where his legs were stretched out, placing herself less than a foot from his torso. Once she was settled, she reached up to frame his face with her hands, watching him as he watched her. " _You_ , are a _good_ man,” she began softly, willing him to see the truth in her voice, how much she believed her words, " _Yes_ you have emotions, _yes_ you get upset and jealous, and angry, but that doesn't mean you _don’t_ have a good heart. You’re _human_ Andrew, you always have been. It’s what made you a flawed leader, but an _honest_ leader, a leader the people could have learned to respect more than they already had learned to. Your flaws make you just like anyone else and make you able to make fair decisions. And yes, in _this_ life you don’t have to be a leader, but your friends and the people who love you, who still look to you for support, do so because you are as human as them. Your heart makes you able to do so much more than you give yourself credit." **  
  
**He smiled slightly, and she wasn’t sure if he truly believed her or not, she just knew she hated seeing him look this lost, “Do you remember the first night of our honeymoon trip? I mean in the lack of details, general knowledge sort of way?” she asked quickly. **  
  
**Andrew’s forehead wrinkled as he frowned, "No,” he began, obviously lost as to her topic job. **  
  
**Rosemary smiled brightly, "We went to Paris first, stayed at the Louvre while waiting for our official wedding at Notre Dame. The girls came with me and your staff came with you, and somewhere in the castle was your mother, _unfortunately_ ,” she chuckled lightly. “After the consummation, we had to leave the chamber so it could be inspected, thank the Lord you had Kenna sneak that vial of sheep’s blood in,” she noted with a small smile, enjoyed his light chuckle. “You left to go deal with the arrangements for Bash and I had to deal with making sure my mother did what I wanted her to, so we didn’t get a chance to see each other again that night besides sleeping in the same bed." **  
  
**“And the next morning my mother barged in and woke us up, so we didn’t get any time alone that morning," he spoke up, with a dawning recognition in his eyes. She was thankful her eyes had adjusted to the light coming through the blinds so she could see his expressions; now he looked like he had just remembered that information and was quite happy with himself. **  
  
**She smiled and nodded, "Exactly. We spent all day dealing with preparations and left that evening to travel to Paris, so while we had time alone in the carriage, we spent it with my explanations of what happened with my mother and you’re explanations of what you had arranged for Bash’s protection and talk of why I looked guilty when he entered our consummation.” **  
  
**“I wasn’t happy, but I understood why,” he nodded slowly, “You knew you had broken his heart, your mother had just thrown it in your face, and while you didn’t have regrets as I feared at that moment, you felt horrible that he had to watch us together.” **  
  
**“I couldn’t understand why he would put himself through it,” she shook her head, “God your father was a real bastard." **  
  
**“Well, he did kill his own brother to get the crown,” Andrew shrugged, “He was already being affected by the poison and feared Bash would do the same to me, not just for the crown, but _you_ …” **  
  
**She nodded, writing that tidbit to ask about more later, she didn’t know Henry had killed the Francis her love had been jointly named after along with his own Grandfather. “Well, Henry had problems,” she chuckled lightly, “ _Especially_ the fact he didn’t know a _thing_ about his sons.” **  
  
**“True,” Andrew agreed. “We got to the Louvre exhausted…” **  
  
**“And passed out as soon as we got into bed,” she chuckled, “The next day was quieter, your mother busy with preparations for the second ceremony leaving us to our time alone. And that night we finally had an evening where we weren’t exhausted and we weren’t being called to do a million responsibilities. And _you_ took advantage of that.” **  
  
**“Making up for the annoyance of our first night as husband and wife,” Andrew fought a smirk. **  
  
**“Exactly,” she chuckled lightly, “You had the girls prepare a bath for me, and then sent them away so you could help me with my bath yourself, delighting in turning what I already thought to be a luxury into so much more." **  
  
**Andrew’s smirk widened, his gaze staring across the room, "I teased and tormented you while helping you wash,” he spoke, then looked at her, “I remember now.” **  
  
**“I remember you saying it came back to you when we talked about it,” Rosemary smiled gently, tracing her fingers along his cheek. "You were so very _evil_ that night, I think I passed out in that tub at one point after the third time…” she trailed off. **  
  
**“Fourth,” he corrected softly, reaching up to cup her cheek, “Rosemary,” he began softly, concern filling his voice, "Are you _okay_ talking about this?” **  
  
**She raised her gaze to his, seeing the concern etched there, and her heart hurt a moment with the simple love she had for this amazing man. "I’m okay,” she answered honestly, “it’s just… well, I’ve never talked to anyone about anything of a sexual nature before. Even my therapists,” she chuckled humorlessly, “So…” **  
  
**“It’s a little odd,” he guessed. **  
  
**“Yeah,” she agreed with a small smile, took a deep breath, “Was it really four orgasms in the tub?" she asked quickly, amazed she actually said the ‘o’ word. **  
  
**Andrew’s grin widened, no doubt because of the heat filling her cheeks, "Oh yes,” he agreed with a smile, “And I think I remember three more on the bed before we finally fell asleep.” **  
  
**She pursed her lips and looked away a moment, thinking back on her memories of that night, "Three sounds right, by the time you found yours I think I was so sensitive I was actually ready to hurt you.” **  
  
**He chuckled again, a pleased sound, "I knew that after the second,” he admitted softly, and her eyes swung back to him, “After watching you shatter into pieces so many times, I was torturing _myself_ as much as you. It was a punishment for myself in some ways, denying me the _exquisite_ bliss of being one with you for risking losing you instead of finding my own way to get you back like I had wanted to when I left Court, and perhaps a bit of self-punishment knowing what had happened with Lola," he admitted with a glance away, until she turned his face back to her. **  
  
**“I also wanted to watch _you_ , watch you rise and fall as many times as I could, to know I had brought you that, that no one _else_ could do what I was able to. To simply enjoy the gift you had given me in giving me your love. _So_ , I was pretty far gone myself, and knew I wouldn’t last long…” **  
  
**“So you used my overly sensitive body to your advantage,” she surmised, shaking her head, "See, I _told_ you that you were an evil man that night,” she added airily. **  
  
**Andrew chuckled, “Yes, yes I suppose I was" he trailed off, frowned slightly and looked at her intently, “Why bring it up though? Especially as you had been trying to convince me I was a good man…” **  
  
**She shrugged slightly, "You said you didn’t remember much of that time, I hoped by talking about it, maybe you would, _maybe_ it would help cheer you up,” she admitted. **  
  
**He shook his head, “Silly, wonderful woman," he spoke, trailing his fingers along her cheek, “Thank you.” **  
  
**“You’re welcome,” Rosemary smiled, momentarily debating the other idea floating around in her head. Taking a breath, she decided to go with the thought, the want, and took one of her hands so she could catch his against her skin, pulling it so she could kiss his palm. He smiled at her action, then watched with mild confusion as she lowered his hand to waist, leaving it there as she raised hers back to join its mate in framing his face. Slowly, she rose up on her knees, leaning forward to press her lips against his. **  
  
**He was completely still for several moments as she carefully moved her lips against his. She had the memories of countless kisses, but like riding a horse in June, memories alone didn't give confidence that she knew what she was doing as she made a first attempt at something more than the same kiss one might give a parent, that quick press of the lips. True theirs has lasted longer than one would kiss a parent or someone else, but they hadn't tried to do more than that simple act in these six months, she decided it was time to move forward. **  
  
**Andrew seemed to realize what was happening, finally, and tilted his head slightly to shift how their lips were joined, and his, at last, went soft against hers, while his hand at her waist tightened, helping support her as she leaned over to him. **  
  
**She felt the same jolt she remembered feeling anytime Mary and Francis had kissed, stronger than she remembered from their previous kisses in this life, and her eyes slipped closed as she kissed him, as he kissed her. She didn’t pull back as she had before, and when she didn’t, neither did he it seemed, as they brought their lips to the other's again, and again. **  
  
**One of her hands fell to rest against his chest, while the other tangled in his curls as his free hand did the same to her mess of hair at the back of her neck. One kiss had become five, and more than she could keep count of as she lost herself in this feeling, breathing in quickly with her nose so she wouldn’t have to keep her lips away from him. **  
  
**She gasped slightly, when she felt his teeth grasp her bottom lip and give it a small tug, her eyes flying open as he pulled back enough to look at her. **  
  
**He looked ready to say something, perhaps apologize, and she didn’t want him to do that, instead, she pressed forward, pressing her lips to his again and resuming their earlier activity. **  
  
**Andrew took a moment again to process, before he was pushing back, giving and taking with her. When she felt a chance, she didn’t stop the want in her head to do to him what he had done to her, and carefully caught his lip with her teeth, part of her revealing in the groan that escaped him. She couldn’t help another gasp as both of his hands suddenly grasped her waist and shifted her so she straddled his legs, his hands rising across her back to tangle in her hair as his kisses became quicker, teeth reaching out to catch her lips now and again. **  
  
**She found herself caught in the same dance, chasing his lips as often as he did hers, until the need for air made her pull back slightly. **  
  
**Andrew groaned, burying his head in her shoulder as they both fought to catch their breath, and she couldn’t help but smile, knowing she had made him so breathless… **  
  
**It was empowering. **  
  
**After a few minutes, he raised his head to look at her, reaching up to brush her hair behind her ear, "You okay?” he asked softly. **  
  
**Rosemary smiled, nodding her head, "I’m more than okay,” she admitted. “That was…” **  
  
**“Amazing?” he asked hopefully. **  
  
**“That works for me, I could probably think of twenty more similes if my brain was fully functioning," she admitted with a giggle. **  
  
**“Good,” he breathed, leaning forward to press his lips against hers again, but pulling back just as she was relaxing into the kiss, and chuckled when he saw the pout she couldn’t help. **  
  
**“Trust me, I could probably spend _all_ morning doing this,” he admitted as she opened her eyes to look at him. “But,” he began as he brushed her hair back, "I need to be annoying and make us talk a little… And are we really staying up until I have to leave and you have to get ready for the day?” **  
  
**“We'll see on the second part,” she offered before taking a deep breath, “You're worrying I've just jumped too fast again aren't you?" **  
  
**She saw the way his lips pinched together, knew he was trying to consider the best way to word it without saying something wrong. **  
  
**“Andrew, breathe,” she began quickly, brushing her fingers along his cheek. “I'm really alright, more than alright to be honest," she could feel the heat in her cheeks, knew he saw it when he smirked. “You are such a male you know that?” she smiled as he just chuckled again. **  
  
**“I can’t help it, sweetheart, you are beautiful when you blush.” **  
  
**“See, _male_ ,” she teased lightly, laughing when he just shrugged. “Anyhow,” she began again after a few moments of simple joy, "I’ve been talking to Allison for a while now, about my concerns regarding this sort of stuff. I wasn’t sure anymore if it was me holding us back, or your fear of pushing me too far, a combination, or something else entirely.” **  
  
**“I was worried about pushing,” he admitted quietly. **  
  
**“So was I in a way,” she agreed, “Allison suggested if I wanted things to change, I shouldn’t wait for you to take the lead if you were worried…” **  
  
**“So you took the lead,” he surmised. **  
  
**“Bad?” she asked carefully, watching for his reaction even as her stomach started flip-flopping. **  
  
**Andrew shook his head quickly, "No, very good,” he corrected before closing the small gap between them to kiss her tenderly. “So,” his voice drifted across her lips as he pulled back slightly, enough to rest his forehead against hers as he so often did, then and now. "Should we be trying to get another hour of sleep?” **  
  
**“We probably should,” she agreed, her smile slowly forming as a wicked thought entered her brain, "Or we could be stupid and forego sleep since we probably won’t see each other again for a week…” **  
  
**Andrew pulled back slightly to look at her, before he simply shook his head as a smile spread across his own lips, "I’m having mild flashbacks of my own here…” **  
  
**Rosemary frowned, unsure of what the heck he meant, "Um… what?” **  
  
**He chuckled, and raised his fingers to thread into the hair at her ears as his hands found what seemed to be their favorite place along her jaw, "Oh, just remembering how quickly you took to kisses in France.” **  
  
**“Oh,” she knew she squeaked just before he captured her lips with his own, but as she melted into his touch, she really didn’t care.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my darlings,
> 
> Another week has snuck up on me again, but I made it. Hope everyone has had a good week and enjoys the latest peek into Andrew and Rosemary's life :-)

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
** **Chapter 3  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
** **Friday, December 15th, 2017  
** **Irvine, California  
** **4:30 p.m.  
  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
** “When do you leave for England?” Laura asked as she gathered her things for the day. **  
  
**“Monday,” Rosemary answered, gathering her own belongings, “Andrew is coming down after he gets off work tonight, and we’re taking Smokey to his place in the morning. Then he’s driving me up, and going to stay the weekend with me, at Sasha’s before heading back Sunday night. I meet up with my Mom at the airport at five.” **  
  
**“Sounds like fun,” Laura chuckled. **  
  
**“I will gladly welcome all the work plotting a lesson plan has to give a reason for not having girl talk about my relationship with my mother," she admitted. **  
  
**Laura laughed outright, "Well, feel free to text and let me know if you want to have a conference call to discuss things, I’ll find time in my Winter Break.” **  
  
**“Thanks, you have no clue how much this means to me…” **  
  
**Laura walked over, resting her hands on Rosemary’s shoulders, “Hon, I was once a young idealistic girl trying to get a teaching certificate too. I get it.” Rosemary simply smiled at the older woman, not sure what else to say. “Well, I hope that you have a good Winter Break, and I will see you in January," Laura stepped back to pick up her bag. **  
  
**“See you in January,” she echoed, grabbing her own bag so they could leave the classroom and head out in opposite directions: Laura to the parking lot and her towards home. **  
  
**She was halfway home on her usual walk when her phone rang. Hearing the familiar tune that Andrew had put on her phone as his ringtone, she pulled her phone out and swiped to answer, "Hey you,” **  
  
**“Hello, Mary my love,” Andrew’s voice drifted across the line. **  
  
**“You are secretly relishing the fact Rose calls me Mary aren’t you?” she asked with a laugh. **  
  
**“Oh, most certainly. And unless _you_ object, I’m secretly contemplating just keeping it up indefinitely.” **  
  
**“My mother is going to have issues with this…” she pointed out as she crossed the street. **  
  
**“I’ve already got a plan for that. _She’s_ plain Mary if she continues to insist on being called anything other than her full name. You’re ‘Mary, love’, or ‘Mary, darling’, ‘Mary, sweetheart’, ‘my Mary’…” **  
  
**“Good God Andrew, you _have_ contemplated this haven’t you?” she couldn’t help stopping on the corner in surprise. **  
  
**“More than is probably healthy when I’m sitting around work all day,” Andrew agreed. "However, _if_ you object, I’ll stick with Rosemary and save Mary for when around your cousin and her family." **  
  
**Rosemary contemplated for a moment, undoubtedly making a number of hilarious faces as she weighed the pros and cons before shrugging, then realizing she had shrugged to herself it seemed and shook her head. Starting back towards home, she finally answered him, "I don’t mind being Mary, _your_ Mary. I never did after all... However, you may have to remember to use my full name around my mother." **  
  
**Andrew’s voice was full of obvious smug pleasure, "Oh, I can do that.” **  
  
**“However, you and my cousin’s family are the only ones allowed to call me Mary, and even then when Mom is around I fully expect them to be calling me by my full name to avoid confusion." **  
  
**“Considering to my knowledge your cousin has to go by her full name to avoid confusion with your Granny Rose, I think that is workable. And I’ll be sure to let everyone know you aren’t starting up a new nickname so they shouldn’t get any bright ideas.” **  
  
**“I love you, even if you’re crazy,” she couldn’t help but laugh as she crossed into her apartment complex. **  
  
**“Well, that’s good to know, especially since I’m sitting at your patio table.” **  
  
**“Wait,” she stopped mid-step once more, pulling her phone back to look at the picture of him from the last time they had been in the Bay Area on a weekend trip and been caught in the rain, "What do you _mean_ you’re at my patio?” she asked after bringing the phone back to her ear. **  
  
**“I mean I’m at your patio, what’s confusing about that?” **  
  
**“Andrew Francis Johnson, you are _supposed_ to be at work,” she growled at him through the phone just before she came around the side of her building and spotted him sitting on her deck. Hanging up the phone she stalked towards him as he rose. " _Why_ aren’t you at work?” **  
  
**“I didn’t take the time off if that’s what you’re thinking,” Andrew spoke quickly as he stepped over to open her gate. "My boss decided to take a long weekend, _I_ just got to reap the benefits.” **  
  
**“Really?” she stopped in front of him and stared up at him, “I’m _really_ supposed to believe that?" **  
  
**“Yes, you _really_ are,” he countered with a smile, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, love." **  
  
**Rosemary couldn’t help but frown up at him, before shaking her head and letting the frown slip away, "You are completely, utterly, crazy.” **  
  
**“About you, always,” he countered with a grin. “So, I was thinking, what about dinner after your shift and maybe we can head up to Rolling Hills tonight instead of in the morning?" **  
  
**“Are you trying to get me alone in your mother’s pool house?” she teased lightly while turning to go unlock her door. **  
  
**“Well, it’s not like my mother has a boathouse…” he countered. **  
  
**Turning back towards him, she leaned against her door, "I’m going to have to get used to this new version of you, aren’t I? Andrew two point oh, the one not afraid to be full of innuendo…” **  
  
**Andrew had stopped just behind her and raised his arms up to brace his hands on the sides of the doorframe above her head after she spoke, his head tilting to the side as he looked down at her seriously. "Is that a problem?” **  
  
**She shook her head, reaching up to place her hand on his cheek, a smile spreading across her lips as he nuzzled into her hand automatically. "Nope, just checking,” she answered cheekily before opening the door and walking backward into the apartment. “Though we should both be prepared for endless teasing if you can’t control yourself in England, and possible interrogations from my mother." **  
  
**Andrew rolled his eyes, shutting the door behind him as he came inside, "I believe that’s part of why we’re announcing our engagement, so your mother can chill out.” **  
  
**“True, maybe she’ll be so blinded by the amazing blue diamond you got me and the other six rings that she’ll not notice you trying to steal her only daughter’s innocence,” she offered as she went to get changed into comfortable clothes. **  
  
**Andrew followed as far as the steps up to her bedroom, leaning against the wall so his back was to the vanity area and one of her closets, "Is your mother really going to suggest I’m trying to steal your innocence?” he called lightly as she hunted through her closet. **  
  
**“To be honest, I don’t know what my mother is going to do. If she finds out you’ve stayed at my place, _ever_ , I may get a lecture about living in sin.” **  
  
**“No offense sweetheart, but isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” **  
  
**Rosemary stuck her head out of the closet, staring at the golden curls that were just peeking around the corner of the wall, "I never said my mother made _sense_. And yes, it would be seeing as I still have no clue who my biological father is and something tells me I never will." **  
  
**“Fair enough,” Andrew sighed, “Am I forgiven if I never truly like your mother?” **  
  
**“Considering most of my friends tolerate my mother at best, even if she has no clue because they are excellent actors and actresses… you’re forgiven,” she answered, before darting back into the closet to hunt down her black jeans. **  
  
**“Anything I can do to help prep?” **  
  
**“I hadn’t gotten Smokey’s food packed to go. Are you sure your sister doesn’t mind watching my crazy cat?" **  
  
**Andrew’s laughter filled the apartment, "Darling, Ari has been chomping at the bit to take care of Smokey since I asked her a month ago. She’s hoping that by proving she can take care of your cat she can convince my parents to get her one of her own. What she doesn’t know, is that Dad and Mom already plan to take her to get one as a Christmas gift. Mom’s got a whole scavenger hunt planned where the end result is Ari finds a certificate saying she’s getting a cat, and Donnie has a certificate saying he’s getting to go to that summer camp up north he’s been talking about since September when Matt Robinson told him about it." **  
  
**“Your mother is devious,” she called as she quickly changed into the located jeans and work shirt, tossing her dirty clothes into the hamper and grabbing her matching black jean jacket. She caught a more flowy shirt known for not wrinkling to change into later and slipped her feet into her favorite ballet style flats, before she stepped out to pull her hair back into a braid. **  
  
**“Well, my mother has always been that way. And I’m fairly certain she’s already plotting our engagement party… I hope you’re okay with Mardi Gras theme, she’s going to go there you know…” **  
  
**Rosemary blinked twice at her own reflection, then decided it was best to just let it go, "Do I want to know how you came to this conclusion?” **  
  
**“She’s been quizzing me about when I’m going to get around to proposing and giving her another daughter," Andrew appeared in the reflection behind her carrying the bag of cat stuff towards the bed, “And she’s been carrying on about the choices Nancy Redgraves made for her bridal registry and how this store is better than that store… I think she thinks she’s being sneaky…” **  
  
**“But she’s failing,” she offered, “Hey, I didn’t say Smokey gets my pillow," she added when she realized what he had come for. **  
  
**Andrew looked up towards where she stood, pillow in hand, like the kid caught in the cookie jar, "He won’t be happy with my pillows…” **  
  
**“So give him one from the couch!” she countered, turning to face him and the bed, “We should get him used to not being on the bed’s pillows anyway if we’re going to have a peaceful night sleep once we are sharing a bed… unless you can sleep giving up half your pillow to a cat…” **  
  
**Andrew blinked several times before nodding his head slowly, "Hadn’t thought of that…” **  
  
**Rosemary tilted her head as she took in his still frozen state, "I just killed you didn’t I? Now you’re imagining life after we’re married…” **  
  
**Andrew took a deep breath, let it out slowly, "More I’m remembering how we preferred to pass the time in bed after our first marriage…” he admitted quietly. **  
  
**“Oh,” she drew out slowly, “I see,” she continued, ignoring the memories racing through her brain and the flip-flopping of her stomach. "Didn’t mean to quite do that…” **  
  
**“I know,” he nodded, “And it’s okay, I’m okay,” he added quickly. "Just…” **  
  
**“Just memories put ideas into heads and neither of us is quite sure I’m ready for that yet," she finished for him. **  
  
**“Yeah,” Andrew agreed, setting the pillow and bag down to circle the bed and cross to her side in a handful of long strides. He turned himself, leaning against the counter next to her as she returned to braiding her hair that had grown to mid-back after she had stopped cutting it since just before returning from England. "Now that we’ve taken the kinda big step we took earlier this month…” **  
  
**“You mean kissing mania?” she teased lightly, hoping to break his serious mood. **  
  
**“Yes,” he smiled, bumping her hip lightly with his, “Give me that,” he instructed as he caught her braid and hands with his own, slipping his fingers in between the sections of hair and pulling the braid she had been trying to maneuver to the front of her shoulder back towards her back. Turning slightly she let him be, enjoying his knowledge of braiding from a younger sister. “I keep worrying,” he began after a moment, “it would be very easy to move from first base to second... I’ve honestly had to catch myself a few times from doing just that,” he explained before grabbing the hair tie she held up for him. "I’m not sure how fast is too fast…” **  
  
**Rosemary sighed softly, then turned around to face him. "Andrew…” she began, gathering her thoughts quickly, “I think the truth is we just have to see what happens.” Seeing the frown starting to form, she hurried on, “I don’t have any sort of courage when it comes to this stuff. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing and none of the memories from our first life are enough to give me the courage to just bite the bullet and do whatever might be floating through my head at any given point in time.” **  
  
**Leaning back against the counter, she looked up at him, watching carefully to make sure she didn’t lose him or confuse him. “I know I’m this crazy sort of give and take. I say I need time, and I did when I first said it… It’s been over half a year since we decided to give this a try again, six months since we made the decision that this was it for us, come hell or high water. In that time I’ve learned I can trust you completely, and with all of me. I’ve faced my own head and heart and _know_ I want a full relationship with you. And I’ve had to face the fears that I’ll screw this up and scare you away if I react badly… but I’ve also had to face the truth that I don’t know how much of my fears are based in reality.” **  
  
**“Rosemary…” **  
  
**“No, let me finish or I might not be brave enough to try this conversation again for another four months," she admitted, having been putting the full brunt of this conversation off for two months much to Allison’s undoubted frustration. “I don’t know how to lead, I don’t know what I’m doing beyond having gained a decent understanding of kissing and that took forever for me to find the strength to ignore my fears and just go with it. I’m pretty mentally screwed up in this department, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want the same things you do…” **  
  
**“Are you saying you just don’t know how to express that you’re okay trying more than just kissing?" Andrew asked carefully, watching her intently. **  
  
**“Partly,” she admitted, unable to help ducking her head as familiar heat filled her cheeks. "Partly I don’t know what to do. I mean I know second base usually means physical contact with… well…” she trailed off. “And there I’m doing it again…” she huffed, more than a little annoyed with herself. **  
  
**Andrew chuckled softly, and her eyes shot up to see if he was laughing at her as she feared. "Sweetheart, you are adorable,” he offered, grasping her waist to lift her up to sit on the counter as he turned to face her. “If it’s easier, we can stick with the cliche baseball references to talk about it… I get the point just fine without you trying to push yourself," he continued, reaching up to push her wisps of hair back behind an ear. **  
  
**She rolled her eyes, tilting her head slightly to look past him across the room, "Most girls aren’t this… emotionally stunted.” **  
  
**He shook his head, catching her chin so she’d look back at him, “First, I don’t want most girls, I want _you_. I intend to marry _you_. Second, as much as you may think it’s stupid, I don’t mind that you have difficulties talking about this stuff. It’s endearing in a way, the only time I get annoyed at all is when I start contemplating if it’s something that would have been naturally part of you, or mostly because of Lorenzo… and then I’m annoyed at _Lorenzo_ and back to the urge to find him and beat him up." **  
  
**Rosemary couldn’t help snorting, "My knight in shining armor… except Lorenzo _isn’t_ Tomas and you can’t just kill the bad guy and get away with it anymore…” **  
  
**“Damn, definitely something the 16th century had over the 21st…” he snapped his fingers, his smile showing how unserious he actually was. **  
  
**“I know,” she nodded, mock sympathy coloring her voice, “It’s just so horrible, we can’t kill our enemies... but, we _can_ avoid the plague…” **  
  
**“Ehh,” Andrew shrugged, “Look for the silver lining right?” **  
  
**She couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped. "God, we are two of the strangest people alive…” **  
  
**“And I wouldn’t change a thing,” he countered with a grin, “Including how cute you are when you can’t talk about anything sex-related.” **  
  
**“Brat,” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. **  
  
**Andrew leaned forward, trapping her between his arms as he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you Rosemary, every bit of you. And if that means you can’t explain this stuff very well without getting embarrassed, I’m _not_ going to be upset with you. I can’t help but find it endearing even, though I get that you wouldn’t…” **  
  
**“I don’t,” she agreed softly. “I find it annoying, and frustrating, and I feel like a child because I can’t talk about what freakin’ middle schoolers talk about every day.” **  
  
**“Well, that’s a scary concept having a sister in middle school,” his voice was a little strained as he straightened and pulled away slightly, she looked up at him quickly to notice the tightening around his eyes. **  
  
**“I’ve talked to Ari, she’s too concerned with her extracurricular activities to be interested in boys. I think you’re safe... For now at least…” **  
  
**“Umm… thank you…” Andrew answered, but it was obvious he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to even be hearing this, let alone contemplating it. **  
  
**“Anyhow…” she began quickly, “We were discussing my inability to function as a normal adult and discuss … sex,” she managed to get out before turning ten shades of red. **  
  
**Andrew blinked once, then a second time as he focused back on her, a slow smile taking over his face, "Yes, we were.” **  
  
**“I’m suddenly thinking you look like the cat that ate the canary…” she watched him carefully as he leaned back in to trap her between his arms once more. **  
  
**“Good analogy,” he nodded. **  
  
**“Am I wrong to question if you’re the cat and I’m the canary?” she asked quickly. **  
  
**“Nope,” he shook his head, keeping his eyes on her before ducking his head to catch her lips with his own. **  
  
**She didn’t have time to contemplate his response, as all too quickly she was caught in the familiar haze, her stomach flip-flopping and her ability to think disappearing out the door as his tongue traced her bottom lip, the two of them soon fighting for dominance as her hands tangled in his curls. **  
  
**Subconsciously, she noted the difference in him, that he wasn’t as hesitant as he sometimes had been to wrap a hand along the back of her neck, supporting her head as they kissed, while his other hand moved across her back. His hand slipped from her back to her hip, kneading the spot as he pulled back to rest their foreheads together again a moment. **  
  
**“Promise me something…” **  
  
**“Hmm?” she managed to get out, a little too busy catching her breath to seriously considering talking yet. How _he_ could form words she had _no_ idea. **  
  
**“If I understood your explanation earlier, you just don’t want to take the lead,” Andrew explained as he kissed her nose, then her cheek, the top of her ear. **  
  
**“Uh huh…” **  
  
**“Promise that if I go too far, too quick, you’ll let me know somehow,” he continued, before catching the lobe of her ear with his teeth and tugging it as gently as he would with her bottom lip. **  
  
**She gave an honest to god squeak, just like one of those dog toys. **  
  
**And he chuckled in her ear. **  
  
**She wasn’t sure if she should smack him, or see if he might make the same noise if she tried that on him. Instead, she decided to plot later, "Promise,” she spoke after a moment, tugging lightly at his curls to bring his lips back to hers. **  
  
**Somehow, she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. She had pretty much given him the green light, so it _shouldn’t_ have come as a surprise when he pulled her so she was flush against him, chest to chest, and other things that she hadn’t dared think about much before, knowing she’d probably have the hardest time looking him in the eye if she had allowed herself. It was like a switch had been flipped, and her sweet Andrew had no problem showing her just how much he had probably been contemplating these things for a while. **  
  
**He spent the next God alone knew how many minutes alternating between breath stealing kisses, and trailing his lips along her jaw, throat, shoulder, and nibbling at her ear whenever he got the idea it seemed. All she knew was that she found herself in a sea of sensation and was a bit too busy trying to process it all to fully pay attention to _everything_. **  
  
**The hand at the back of her neck was slowly massaging the skin there, further keeping her thoughts scattered, while his free hand moved wherever it felt like. When he slipped it under the fabric of her shirt to brush his fingers along her lower spine and around to her stomach, she was momentarily distracted by the thought that his hand was as warm as it was, before it simply became one more sensation to keep her adrift. **  
  
**She didn’t come back to reality, until Andrew bit down lightly on her shoulder, and seemed to snap back to reality himself when she gasped. His hand reflexively tightened on her hip, while he dropped his head to rest his forehead where he had just had his mouth and teeth, breathing harshly against her shoulder as she buried her head into the side of his neck. **  
  
**It took a few minutes to start processing sound beyond the blood pounding in her ears, when she did process the single word he kept repeating, it made her heart tighten, and she couldn’t help the quick intake of breath that caused him to completely freeze. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly, determined to not let him do what she felt him try to do a second later. Instead, she pressed her own lips against his neck, again and again as she repeated ‘ _it’s okay_ ’ and ‘ _I’m okay_ ’ until she felt him relax, felt his arms encircle her and pull her close. **  
  
**“Sorry,” he repeated for the umpteenth time against her shoulder. **  
  
**“Shh,” she breathed against his neck, before pulling back enough to look at him as she maneuvered his face up so he would look at her, "Do I look upset?” she pressed lightly. **  
  
**“No...” he answered, eyes darting back and forth as he stared at her. **  
  
**“Then you don’t need to apologize,” she countered with a smile, pressing her lips to his for a chaste kiss. "I’m good, I’m _more_ than good,” she admitted with a slight shrug. **  
  
**“I’m glad,” Andrew smiled slightly. “I’m still going to say sorry,” he continued quietly, reaching up to rest his hand against the back of hers. "I started to lose control…” **  
  
**“Andrew,” she frowned slightly, “Sweetheart I’m _not_ upset. And I don’t know that _I_ consider that losing control…” **  
  
**“I do,” he argued, “I’m more experienced than you, and I _know_ my own tells. You were wonderful, and everything I’ve dreamed you would be, and I found myself forgetting that I had told myself to only push so far this first time," he paused, looked towards her shoulder while raising his other hand to gently brush his thumb across where he had bit. She couldn’t help the shiver as he lightly moved the shirt above the sensitive skin there, watched his eyes darken before they jumped back to her. "I could _very_ easily forget my plan, and just keep doing what we were doing. And I could very easily pick you up, carry you over to that bed, and spend the rest of tonight learning every inch of you. Discovering how your skin tastes, and so much more." **  
  
**“Andrew…” she breathed before his finger moved to rest against her lips while he shook his head lightly. **  
  
**“I don’t know if you’re about to agree that we should stop, or possibly try and argue that you don’t want me to stop,” he began ruefully, a small, humorless smile quirking his lips. “I think I need to though, because I don’t want to look back and think I took the first chance you offered and jumped into bed with you. For my sake of mind, I _need_ to have the option of looking at you tomorrow, knowing we stopped now, and checking that you’re okay still… And if you are, then maybe we’ll repeat tonight a few more times until we see where it takes us…” **  
  
**Smiling softly, she threaded her fingers into his curls, gently running her fingers through them separating tangles, "I hear you,” she began softly, “And I’m not going to argue. I want both of us to be okay with whatever happens. And if you need time to be sure that I’m okay, then that’s alright.” **  
  
**“Good,” Andrew smiled, then pressed his lips to hers softly. “So,” he began as he pulled back, taking a step back from the counter completely. "Should we get back to the idea of dinner and preparing your insane cat to go spend a week or so with my sister? Plus you have work…” **  
  
**“Yes, yes I do, which means we should contemplate dinner locations after my shift at this point,” she agreed with a smile, having caught sight of the clock on her iPod charger, before scooting forward to hop down from the counter. **  
  
**She was secretly glad she never kept much on it as a general rule. **  
  
**Moving around him, she headed towards her bed where her suitcase sat, and the bag he had dropped. “By the way,” she called as she headed back down to the living area to grab a pillow from the futon, “It doesn’t make a lot of sense for you to sleep on the couch at the pool house, aren’t we both adult enough we can share a bed and simply sleep? We did it on the beach after all.” **  
  
**She shouldn’t have enjoyed the sound of something hitting the wall… but she did, and she was pretty sure it was his head as he processed what she just said. **  
  
**She _could_ be understanding, didn’t mean she _had_ to be a saint since he had just tortured both of them by pulling away.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On to Christmas and the trip back to England we go... :-)

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
****Chapter 4  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Wednesday, December 20th, 2017  
****London, England  
****12:18 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Rosemary shifted in her seat, then glanced at the time again. **  
  
**“Patience my dear.” **  
  
**Glancing to her side, she found Arthur Douglas seemingly engrossed in his newspaper, though his noticing of her movement belied otherwise. "Patience is a virtue that comes and goes…” **  
  
**“Especially when your mother has driven us all crazy,” he lowered the paper to look at her knowingly. **  
  
**It was incredibly strange seeing her own eyes looking back at her. **  
  
**Apparently, they had skipped her mother, but the Douglas family was known for her particular shade of brown eyes. Rose had them, Rose’s father Colin had them, and Colin’s father Arthur had them. From what her Uncle Arthur had told her, her own grandfather Benedict had them as well. **  
  
**Arthur, she had learned was far from pleased to hear his brother’s only granddaughter had no idea what her own grandparents looked like since her mother had shipped things back to England and Colin when she married Lorenzo and never bothered to get anything back once she and Lorenzo split. **  
  
**Getting to know her cousin’s family, her extended family, was an experience, to say the least. **  
  
**She learned quickly that her Granny Rose was quite simple, amazing. She had hundreds of stories of a life lived all over the world through World War II and everything after. Uncle Arthur and Aunt Joan were happy to share tales of their love affair during the sixties and what it was like in England the last fifty to sixty years. Uncle Arthur still held the family title, but upon his death, it would pass to his son, and upon Uncle Colin’s death it would pass to Rose. **  
  
**Personally, Rosemary could think of no one who deserved it more. **  
  
**She certainly didn’t want the responsibility. **  
  
**They had been staying at the family home in London, which Rose and Richard would move into after their honeymoon, and it was already a mini-mansion in her mind. Of course, when she had met her Uncle Colin for the first time in Derbyshire, she had seen the family Hall, and promptly been made aware of just what her grandfather had been born into. She had already thought they were well off with the Hall, but upon meeting her Uncle Arthur, Aunt Joan, and Granny Rose, she was proved wrong. **  
  
**She had heard endless stories since their arrival about the Baronage estate in Staffordshire and the fact the family had apparently been breeding horses for generations. **  
  
**Her mother might be upset to not have part of it, but Rosemary herself was quite happy to be out of the loop as it were. Even if she did have a quickly growing renewed love of horses. **  
  
**“I am sorry Uncle Arthur,” she began softly after a moment, realizing her impatience was probably wearing on her seventy-four-year-old ‘Uncle’. **  
  
**“It is quite alright little one. I remember how it was to not see my Joan for what felt like forever. Rose Lynn is just as impatient when seeing Richard again," he finished with a wink and warm smile. **  
  
**Rosemary smiled back at her Uncle, before standing, "I'm going to wander a bit…” **  
  
**“I'll just be here, having a read,” he raised his paper up even as he spoke. “Just bring your young man here once you've found him." **  
  
**Rosemary was fairly convinced that she had the world's _best_ extended family. Even if it was mildly confusing, even if she had to deal with her mother being just this side of obviously jealous in her praise of everything, she really was learning to love them all. **  
  
**Smiling to herself, she set off to walk around the luggage area, keeping an eye on the flights, counting down the minutes until he landed and would be walking into the area to retrieve his luggage and could hold her in his arms and help settle her nerves. **  
  
**Roughly two days in, and she was _desperately_ needing his support. **  
  
**Wedding plans were well, even if she did have to play peacemaker between her cousin and Richard’s female cousins who weren't happy an American was the only member of the bridal party. The British had an annoying way of not saying what they were feeling, and yet making it obvious even as they were the most polite species in the world. **  
  
**She was starting to wonder if that was where her mother had learned it from, the Grandfather she had never known who had moved to America to be with a girl he met in the early seventies. Except, her mother wasn’t quite as good as these women she was meeting now, so obviously her mother hadn’t picked up the art as well as she might have thought she had. **  
  
**Her mother’s barely concealed jealousy was wearing on her nerves, and she knew it was on Rose’s as well, and, from what Rose confided, it had already worn on her father and grandparents. Only Granny Rose seemed to be taking it in stride, how exactly Rosemary was clueless. **  
  
**Then again, perhaps when you were ninety-seven-years-old, you could take almost anything in stride. **  
  
**That was the other interesting thing to learn upon meeting her extended family. Apparently, were it not for the car accident that had claimed her grandparents’ lives months after she had been born, her grandfather could have likely had a long life. His mother was nearing a hundred, his grandmother had surpassed a hundred, and the males before him had died at seventy-two and eighty-three respectively. Granny Rose had made a casual remark that the men and women in the Douglas family had been known to have long, blessed lives through the good and bad of history. **  
  
**She suddenly wanted to devote time on ancestry to tracing her own family, a task she had neglected as she had hunted through history to trace what became of her friends and family from her time as Mary. **  
  
**An arm around her waist pulled her from her thoughts, and almost had her shrieking, until she caught a whiff of the familiar scent that always accompanied her secret fiance. **  
  
**It didn’t stop her gasp and the loss of more than one heartbeat as she had the life scared out of her. **  
  
**“Sorry,” he whispered against the hair near her ear, pulling her to his chest. “I saw you standing there staring off in space and it’s been too long since I saw you.” **  
  
**Rosemary couldn’t help chuckling, “Andrew, it’s only been _three_ mornings since you saw me.” **  
  
**“Three mornings too long,” Andrew countered as she turned in his arms to face him, “Long hours spent worrying if you were doing alright with your crazy mother and who knew who else…” he admitted quietly, hands pushing her hair back from her face so they could rest gently against her jaw and cheekbones. **  
  
**“Oh Andrew,” Rosemary whispered, reaching up to brush her thumb against his cheek, “You sweet, overprotective, dingbat.” **  
  
**Andrew’s laugh was welcomed and was exactly what she needed. His calm, familiar presence was enough to allow her to feel for a moment like there was nothing else, just the two of them… no wedding, no snide British women, no snide mother, no fear of facing her mother’s disapproval when she announced her own engagement… none of it mattered. **  
  
**She was pulled from her quiet musings by her hand being caught with one of Andrew’s and lowered from his face, looking up in time to see his head tilt to hers before his lips found her own and she was lost in everything except him, except them. **  
  
**“Love you,” he whispered, forehead resting against hers as their lips parted. **  
  
**“Love you,” she agreed, soaking up these few extra seconds before reluctantly pulling away. “Come on, we need to get your bags then go meet my Uncle Arthur.” **  
  
**“Arthur being Rose’s Grandfather and your mom’s Uncle right?” Andrew asked, stepping back to offer his arm so they could walk over to the carousel his plane’s luggage was going to arrive on. **  
  
**“Bingo,” she smiled up at him, “How was your last couple of days before the boss went off on his yearly Christmas vacation?” **  
  
**“They were good, busy,” he shrugged, “Before you ask, the flight was long, obviously… I managed to sleep most of the night thankfully.” **  
  
**“Well, that’s good, as I doubt you’re going to get sleep until late tonight. Uncle Colin and Uncle Arthur plan to kidnap you and rescue you from the last minute wedding plans. You missed the rehearsal dinner, that was last night, so it’s the stag and hen party tonight. I think my Uncles plan to keep you safe and sound from my mother while I’m at the hen party with Rose, and Richard is at his stag party.” **  
  
**“Well, that’s a relief,” Andrew admitted, before stepping away to grab his bags. **  
  
**“I had a feeling you’d say that,” Rosemary smiled as he walked back. “Did you just bring the one bag?” **  
  
**“I’m a master ninja packer,” he grinned, offering his free arm for her to take. “So, where would we find your Uncle Arthur?” **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Thursday, December 21st, 2017  
****London, England  
****6:47 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**It was a beautiful wedding. **  
  
**Rose and Richard had exchanged their vows before God and man in a mostly simple ceremony, with only one attendant each and not even a flower girl. **  
  
**Rosemary had reached the point that she found it amusing to have Richard’s cousins silently giving her death glares, and he made sure to help that amusement along during the ceremony, by stealing glances at the two and making as discreet faces as he could, just to keep her spirits up. **  
  
**He had known the moment he saw her in the airport, that these few days hadn’t been all good. **  
  
**He had, based off of her descriptions as he hadn’t had one before, a flashback for a moment to their lives before. The long hours spent at court, learning quickly to hide behind an expressionless mask of happiness had been an art his dear Mary had learned quickly. As he had stepped into the area where she waited, he had searched with his eyes until he spotted her, only to have the image of his Rosemary in jeans and a sweater replaced with Mary in a dress standing outside the lowering gates. **  
  
**It was fleeting, but as it faded and he really took in everything about Rosemary, her stance, her facial expressions, he realized why it must have happened. Whether she realized it or not, she was utilizing those same skills they had learned so long ago at Court, hiding behind a mask of happiness or indifference. **  
  
**It had worried him. **  
  
**When he met Maryanne Douglas’ Uncle Arthur, Andrew had liked the older man immediately. **  
  
**He had a bit of trouble figuring out how one of two brothers so alike from what he had heard from Arthur, had produced Maryanne though. Maryanne, in his opinion, had all the art of being a kind, loving woman, but was too caught up in her own issues to truly connect with another living being and show what she _could_ be. Arthur, and seemingly his brother Benedict, had all those same good qualities and shared them openly with the world. **  
  
**He had teased them good-naturedly, in that entirely British way of not saying what you are implying when Rosemary had made introductions, before they had gone out to find the car and make the drive across town to the family home in London, as Arthur had put it. **  
  
**It wasn’t until later that evening, that Rosemary revealed what she had learned about her family. Something her mother had never fully revealed. **  
  
**Oh, it had been known that Maryanne Douglas was the granddaughter of someone with money in England. She had happily made sure her daughter knew her cousin’s daughter. And yet somehow, it had been done in such a way that Rosemary had never been filled in on the fact her family actually had a minor title. Not that her branch would inherit of course, but Uncle Arthur as Rosemary called him was actually a Baron. They had a large home up in Staffordshire, a smaller Hall in Derbyshire which was the only family home Rosemary had previously been aware of, and a third home in London itself. **  
  
**And she thought his family had money. **  
  
**When he had foolishly voiced that, he had to backtrack quickly at Rosemary’s look. **  
  
**His family did have money. Money earned in his parents’ choice of occupation that let them live comfortably with enough of a cushion that neither he nor his siblings had to do any job other than one they actually liked to survive. And, if managed properly, his children could have a nice nest egg to start on. All of which was vastly different than what he had learned about her extended family. **  
  
**His family was new money, her’s was old money with traditions and no fears of it disappearing in the next two generations - unless someone had managed it quite poorly. **  
  
**He personally found it quite ironic that while he was a descendant of his own son, Rosemary had unknowingly been related to what they would have once referred to as the minor nobility. It seemed they both had their own strange circles to the past. **  
  
**Andrew had taken a liking to the Baroness, Maryanne’s Aunt Joan, immediately, along with Granny Rose as the matriarch of the family preferred to be known. Colin also seemed to be as open as his father and mother so Andrew had no issues with Rose Lynn’s father. It truly left him stumped as to how Maryanne Douglas ended up as she had. It had also revealed to Andrew within forty minutes of being settled in London, that Rosemary’s barely hidden stress was a combination of dealing with her cousin’s wedding and her own mother. **  
  
**The latter more than the former. **  
  
**Which, to be honest, hadn’t pleased him one bit. He had kept his calm, and simply done his best to help distract her without any inappropriate behaviors for their company. Which meant no obvious displays of affection. Which had led to him happily sneaking into her room to see her, thanks to the amount of brandy Arthur and Colin had slipped him while she had been at the Hen Party. He had found, sharing a bed with her only a handful of days prior, brought the same restful sleep he had memories of from their first life. And while the most they had done was sleep, he still wanted time to work up to potentially going _that_ far, he had been drunk enough last night to have no qualms sneaking into her room to pull her close and simply sleep. **  
  
**Thankfully, he had the foresight to set an alarm so he could be up and back in his own rooms two hours before they were due to emerge for breakfast. **  
  
**It brought back fond memories of waking her to sneak her back to her own chambers so they wouldn’t be caught, and Rosemary had known exactly what he was remembering when he couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot as he snuck out of her rooms, if her half mumbled comments had been any indication. **  
  
**After the ceremony, they had returned to the family home where the reception was being held. **  
  
**Rosemary had confided that she was personally, upon truly understanding the status of her British relatives, very surprised to hear that Richard’s mother had put such a fuss that her son was marrying up as it were. The reception was a large gathering with plenty of food, an inordinate amount of pictures that she had to pose for as part of the wedding party, and thankfully plenty of time that he could steal her to himself for a few minutes, especially to remind her how amazing she looked and watch her cheeks turn as dark as her gown. **  
  
**He had caught Rose Lynn at one point, and quietly thanked his love’s cousin for her choice in a dress for Rosemary. **  
  
**She was a vision in the deep red gown that fell in soft waves to the floor, a black lace shawl covering bare shoulders that he was already plotting finding a chance to steal her away from the party so he could pepper kisses across at some point. Her hair was a riot of curls, and he couldn’t help but stop and simply wonder how she didn’t see what he did: how very much she did resemble her old self. With the circlet of red roses that rested on her head, he was easily reminded of the party Catherine had thrown for Charles to celebrate his engagement to Madeline. The faux black pearl necklace, a replica of one he had given her with his mother's blessing at Notre Dame, just helped cement the look of ‘Mary’ she was presenting. **  
  
**Somehow though, Rosemary didn’t see what he did, and she still was obviously self-conscious any time her shawl slipped to reveal a pale shoulder with how quick she was to fix it, even if it only slipped a few inches. **  
  
**They were quietly dancing, at least what passed for dancing in this modern time as they swayed from side to side; enjoying a moment away from the pomp and circumstance, and more importantly, away from the scrutiny of her mother who had seemed to have keyed in that there was something more to the relationship between them. **  
  
**He _knew_ she was not looking forward to when all the guests left, leaving the family alone in the house and her mother the chance to corner her. **  
  
**“You know, we have to start contemplating this for ourselves…” he began quietly, contemplating the little things that had amused her the most about the reception - the slight Disney flair Rose Lynn had worked in obviously being the first and foremost. **  
  
**He had actually found it amusing himself, to be seated at Lumiere’s table, and could appreciate how someone apparently as strong a Disney lover as his secret fiance, was able to limit the Disney influence on her wedding. Growing up not far from L.A., he had seen some truly crazy Disney weddings. Rose Lynn had limited it to the tables being named for characters from her favorite movie, identifiable by the centerpiece of the table - their’s having been a candelabra - and the color scheme was also obviously influenced not just by Beauty and the Beast, but the season as deep red, dark green, with gold accents, along with red roses, were tastefully spread throughout the room. The only other obvious signs, besides the tables, was the cake, with its red roses and gold leaves that didn’t scream Disney immediately, until you looked at the top layer, topped with a simple figurine of Belle and the Beast dancing made out of white porcelain trimmed with gold accents. **  
  
**It couldn’t be helped, his brain starting to wonder what Rosemary might like for their wedding. **  
  
**“Contemplating…” she glanced up, unsure just what he was talking about. **  
  
**“This,” he raised his own eyes to gaze around the room. **  
  
**“Oh,” she breathed, confusion fading from her eyes, “you mean one of these, of our own…” **  
  
**“Exactly,” he smiled, “have you thought about it at all?” **  
  
**“Not really,” Rosemary admitted, “It will be nice though,” she glanced around, taking in everything, “to be able to make decisions this time, to do what we want.” **  
  
**Andrew knew what she was talking about, his mind drifting to their first wedding, before he nodded, “Catherine planned it all,” he admitted, “rather quickly pulled it together once she got involved.” **  
  
**“It was lovely. Quite my favorite one,” she admitted with a small smirk. **  
  
**“I should hope so,” Andrew looked affronted a moment, before chuckling lightly when he realized she was teasing. **  
  
**“I suppose the first thing we will have to do is figure out where we should have it,” Rosemary sighed, “My mother is likely to push for up north… your family is mostly down south…” **  
  
**Andrew pursed his lips together, realizing she was going to be practical about this. He didn’t _want_ her to be practical… “As you pointed out a minute ago, it would be our chance to have our own wedding. So, I’m inclined to think that it should be where _we_ want to have it.” **  
  
**“Well, do _you_ have any thoughts?” she countered. **  
  
**“Actually, I did have one,” Andrew admitted, “I was thinking what about a destination wedding…” **  
  
**“Destination?” She blinked at him, the thought obviously hadn’t crossed her mind. **  
  
**“Well, I don’t particularly like the idea of a massive wedding, do you?” **  
  
**“Good heavens no,” she whispered, looking up at him, “How massive could it be?” **  
  
**“If we have it down south, all the people my father and mother know would want to come…” he pointed out carefully. **  
  
**“And that’s an insanely large amount,” she nodded slowly, and he watched the wheels turning in her beautiful head, “comparable to Notre Dame?” she asked carefully. **  
  
**“Exactly. I was thinking, depending on the destination, it might be closer to the first… if not smaller.” **  
  
**Rosemary nodded slowly, “If we want to go away for it… can we really afford to have more than just us?” **  
  
**Andrew sighed, dipped his head to press his lips to her forehead, “Are you seriously worrying about the cost of a wedding?” **  
  
**“Can you blame me?” she looked up at him with a small frown, “Andrew, I’m going to be a teacher. I am mostly only making it through school on grants and scholarships and many hours spent serving a lot of coffee, and babysitting before that… My mother is a dental hygienist…” **  
  
**“Rosemary,” he began softly, raising a hand to brush a curl behind her ear. “Love, this is _our_ wedding. And I know your mother probably doesn’t have a large amount of money, but we don’t live in the 1950s, couples do pay for their _own_ weddings nowadays. Or at least _part_ of them…” **  
  
**“My mother _won’t_ be pleased,” she countered quietly. **  
  
**“Well,” Andrew began with a small shrug of his shoulders, “she will have to deal with my mother.” **  
  
**“What do you mean?” Rosemary looked up at him, confusion etched across her face. **  
  
**“My mother looked at my father when I was twelve, and she was expecting Donovan, when he was really, truly, becoming known in the business. She pointed out that even a wedding of a boy for them would cost them _something_ . Seeing as it really wasn’t fair to put the cost of what could be a large wedding solely on the family of whatever partner their sons chose… So, they started high-interest savings accounts at the time for each of the three of us, with plans to start one for Donnie after he was born. They decided what they wanted to put in each year, and then multiplied it by the number of years each of us had been living, and we started with at least what they would have provided had it started at birth. In the _end_ , Donnie and Ari have the far better deal, time for interest and all, but it _does_ mean I have a nice nest egg whose sole purpose is to help with my wedding costs.” Thankfully his love seemed to take in stride the unique nature of his family in regards to money and what was deemed family responsibilities by this point, and he safely could say she wasn’t marrying him _for_ his money… **  
  
**She stared at him as the music came to an end, then released a breath he hadn’t even processed she was holding. “We talk later?” she asked softly, a shy smile touching her lips and he knew at the very least, she wasn’t about to have a meltdown on him. Well, at least not one that he couldn’t handle while she processed again just what it meant to be involved with him. **  
  
**“Later,” he promised, raising her hand to kiss the back of it gently, then pulling it into the crook of his arm to lead her back to where her Great-Grandmother was watching them intently. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Monday, December 25th, 2017  
****London, England  
****8:13 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**The wedding reception had lasted long into the night before finally everyone had left, including the bride and groom, leaving the six Douglases, and one Johnson alone in the house once more. **  
  
**As Rose and Richard had left for their honeymoon trip late that night, the following days were filled with trips around London in various collections of people from the house. **  
  
**Friday had been spent at Leicester Square, enjoying the Christmas festivities they had there as Colin took the three Americans to his favorite place for the holidays. Plenty of walking, some shopping, and delicious edibles filled the day as they wandered the square that had been turned into a winter wonderland while the house was reclaimed with a cleaning service so that when they returned that evening for dinner, the only signs of the wedding the day before were the roses that remained in vases spread throughout the house. **  
  
**Saturday saw them off to what was apparently Granny Rose’s favorite place, and had been for ages, the Winter Festival at Southbank Centre. The day was spent under the shadow of the London Eye, walking through a Nordic landscape, with a giant Norwegian tree and surrounded by Scandinavian decorations to complete the impression that you weren’t in London, even though you were under the London Eye. They walked through the Winter market along the banks of the Thames, peeking into wooden cabins that held all sorts of crafts, gifts, and tempting treats galore. There was even a Charity Shop Emporium that took up a decent amount of time, the temptation too high to help a good cause and pick up one of a kind gifts and party outfits for Christmas Eve the next day - as Aunt Joan had insisted Rosemary would need something nice. There was a traditional fire pit inside the two-story cider lodge, where they got to try hot spiced plum cider - which Rosemary had been determined to find a recipe for future knowledge, and sample some more traditional Scandinavian food. **  
  
**Saturday had kept them all out too late, so Sunday they had all planned to sleep in. Or so had been the decision made when people went to bed the night before. Andrew had apparently had other plans, dragging her out of bed just after eight to have breakfast together where he presented her with a single ticket. **  
  
**To The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House. **  
  
**She almost spit the sip of tea she had just taken out on him. **  
  
**Her brain quickly realized that her Aunt Joan had been in on it, thus the hunt for a party dress the day before, and had probably been smiling like an idiot the entire time she went to get ready per his instructions since they had to be at the Opera House at noon. The family driver drove them over to the Opera House in time to get settled into their seats so they could enjoy the show. Which was simply amazing in Rosemary’s opinion, and she was pretty sure Andrew knew just how much she enjoyed herself by how often she was looking away from the show at him with a massive grin on her face. **  
  
**She had to admit, there were definite perks to dating someone with money. He could do amazing, wonderful, surprises, like taking her to shows. **  
  
**After the show, they went to Hyde Park, even though she thought he was a bit crazy to go walking around in their long winter coats over their nice clothes. She could never tell him no though, not truly, and quickly decided he had the right idea anyway as they wandered around the winter festival at Hyde Park, having lunch and simply enjoying time with just the two of them. **  
  
**She even convinced him to go ice skating. And caught a picture when he wasn't looking to send to Rachel and Ari, knowing the two would adore the picture of their brother on the ice after years of fighting them. **  
  
**As they wandered, they talked. It was their first chance since the wedding to pick up the conversation Andrew had started while they danced. **  
  
**They talked realistic daydreams, the only way she was comfortable plotting at the moment, without any idea of the budget they would be working with. Andrew had asked the question he had obviously been dreading, wondering if she wanted a wedding at a Disney related venue if it was possible. She had quickly said no, she loved Disney immensely, and couldn’t promise she wouldn’t love to try to fit some sign of her love of Disney into the wedding, perhaps something like Rose Lynn had - if it worked for both of them - but getting married at a Disney Park was not in her daydream. Visiting the park with him certainly had its wonderful dreams, but having her mother there for her wedding was akin to the apocalypse in her opinion. **  
  
**Relief had been evident, and giggled over. **  
  
**Rosemary had been surprised when he suggested somewhere like Scotland, and she hadn’t been able to hide the moment where surprise faded to want, before she tamped it down. She had a feeling he’d later use it against her but had in turn questioned if he was looking at Europe what about France, listening as he gave reasons for not wanting to marry in France, again so to speak. The Caribbean was thrown out, as she didn’t want to do the big wedding in paradise cliche, and they instead turned to talk of wedding parties and times of the year. **  
  
**It was quickly agreed, hypothetical or not, that summer would probably be the easiest time to have a wedding with her having a school schedule to follow. So a summer wedding was quickly decided as a definite. Colors he deferred to her to contemplate and bring back ideas, and flowers was a similar situation as he had no idea what flowers were even available in summer time. He admitted to wanting perhaps a few more people than Rose and Richard had, but wanting to definitely not include his entire circle of friends in the wedding party, she, in turn, had agreed to maybe no more than four or five each. And admitted that unless he had some younger cousins, they would be out of luck in the flower girl and ring bearer department on her side of the wedding. **  
  
**At which point he had brought up the cousins that she hadn’t really had a chance to meet yet, and she had smacked him lightly on the arm for not revealing his extended family like she had, only able to keep the straight face about halfway through her mock tirade before she began to chuckle. **  
  
**Eventually, they left the park, reluctantly returning to the house and giving up their one on one time. **  
  
**They had changed into comfortable clothes and enjoyed dinner with her relatives before retreating to do their own thing, Andrew to Skype with his family while Rosemary retreated to her room to work on her lesson plans that had been put off with all the family trips. All much to Maryanne’s frustration that she couldn’t convince her daughter to come spend time with her. **  
  
**Eventually, she had fallen asleep over her work, only to be woken the next morning by Andrew softly saying her name. **  
  
**Definitely a wake-up she could get used to. **  
  
**They spent twenty minutes sitting up in her bed just talking through how they wanted to do things, after having cleaned up her papers, before she rose to find something other than what she had worn to dinner the night before and to be more presentable for Christmas morning with her relatives. **  
  
**After a quick shower, she got dressed before leaving the bath area. She wasn’t surprised to find Andrew leaning against the counter in the dressing room, and simply went about her business as he fiddled with something or other. Instead, she simply enjoyed the quiet simplicity of them being together while she combed her hair and started putting it into a French braid. **  
  
**It was nice, to see they had the same ease with each other that they had in their first life, even with the insecurities that she had in this life due to her childhood. Then, she had noticed that Andrew often defied most of her psychological issues that existed from her childhood, even her friends she had known for over half her life could accidentally set off something, hell her own mother could give her issues…. And yet she always felt comfortable and safe with Andrew. **  
  
**“When did you get these?” Andrew asked as she was halfway through the braid. **  
  
**Glancing over, she realized he had been slowly moving the black beads between his fingers, the necklace she had brought to wear with the dress Rose Lynn had picked for her after discovering the color theme for her dress was red and black. **  
  
**“I bought them while I was at Brighton. At one of the faires, they were selling them as a replica of Elizabeth’s black pearls…” **  
  
**“No one really remembers that they belonged to you before Elizabeth, my mother before you,” Andrew’s voice was distant, as he continued to move the pearls. **  
  
**“No, history remembers what it chooses. We used that to our advantage though, so we can’t pick and choose liking it,” she offered, returning to her braid. **  
  
**Andrew sighed, turning to lay the black beads down on the counter where he had gotten them from, “I can appreciate the good it did, and yet I’m irritated by many of the changes… It seems wrong to be upset over something that happened hundreds of years ago…” **  
  
**“Upset that certain events happened in general, or upset that events happened to those you cared about,” Rosemary asked softly watching him in the mirror while she worked. **  
  
**His eyes raised to find hers, and she didn’t like how cloudy his blue eyes looked at the moment but said nothing, waiting for him to speak. “Mostly upset about what happened to those I loved,” he admitted after several moments. “It’s stupid, like I said, it’s lifetimes ago…” **  
  
**“Love, you’re _human_ ,” she countered gently, “You’re _allowed_ to be upset that the ones you loved were upset, hurt, and or treated in some manner that you dislike. Especially, knowing you as I do and did, as you probably imagine had you lived it wouldn’t have been that way.” **  
  
**He sighed again then turned to lean against the counter once more, “How did I _ever_ think in that first life that I could hide things from you? You’ve always known me so well…” **  
  
**She shrugged, wrapping the tie around the bottom of the braid, “You wanted to protect me, and took drastic measures,” she offered as an explanation. Letting go of the braid, she stepped to stand in front of him, hands finding his chest and sliding up to wrap around his neck. Raising up on her toes, she pressed her lips to his gently. “It’s okay,” she whispered as she pulled back. “It’s okay to feel how you feel, and it’s okay, we’ll move past it.” **  
  
**Andrew smiled, his eyes clearing back to their lovely blue, then lowered his head to capture her lips with his own. She figured if he wanted to distract himself with them, she wasn’t about to argue as they spent the next unknown amount of time lost in each other, exchanging kisses and caresses. He had picked her up at one point, turning to set her down on the edge of the counter so he didn’t need to bend and she didn’t need to pull a tippy-toe maneuver to deal with their six-inch difference in height. **  
  
**Eventually, he pulled away and rested his forehead on her shoulder, pressing light kisses to the skin below. “We should probably be heading downstairs…” **  
  
**“We should,” she agreed, turning her head to press her lips to his curls. **  
  
**Andrew nodded against her shoulder, “Before we do…” he began, reaching behind her on the counter. She waited quietly, waiting to see what he would do as she felt him move. He straightened after a minute, and she felt the familiar coolness of a metal chain touch her skin as he brought it from behind so he could clasp it in front as he stepped back slightly. Glancing from where his fingers worked with the clasp up to his face, she raised an eyebrow and waited, enjoying the small smirk he gave when he noticed her watching him. Once he had the clasp done, he kept it in one hand, while the other reached around back, and they switched positions, moving the clasp to the back of her neck and bringing something hidden in his right hand to rest lightly over her chest before he let it go and stepped back. **  
  
**Looking down, she noticed it wasn’t her ring like she usually wore on the chain, and picked up the silver snowflake that laid against the fabric of her shirt, “Oh Andrew,” she whispered, taking in the delicate silver-work and small pearls, recognizing the design of the snowflakes they had seen at the Nordic Village. **  
  
**“I figured since you didn’t need the chain for the ring anymore, it needed a new use,” he spoke with a smile, brushing his fingers against her cheek. “A reminder of our first Christmas together.” **  
  
**Looking up at him, she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face, reaching out she caught his shirt in her fingers and pulled him back towards her so she could catch his lips with her own once more, a short and simple thank you conveyed without words. **  
  
**Pulling away with a smile, Andrew picked up her left hand, already filled with the rings he had given her in the past, and slipped her engagement ring to its rightful place on her ring finger, then pressed his lips gently to her hand just above where he had placed it. **  
  
**“Now to see how long it takes for someone to realize I gained a ring,” Rosemary chuckled as she looked at her hand, wiggling her fingers slightly to watch the play of light over the alternating colors of the rings, across the rose colored gold, the silver, the yellow gold, the white gold, and the yellow gold again. **  
  
**“Well then, shall we?” Andrew stepped back and held out a hand, a smile lighting his face. She had a sudden feeling he was looking forward to her relatives’ undoubted happiness, especially if her mother wasn’t thrilled like she suspected. **  
  
**Shaking her head, she placed her hand in his, and hopped down from the counter, “Yes, we shall, my crazy one.”


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to America we go...

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
****Chapter 5  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Sunday, December 31st, 2017  
****Rolling Hills, California  
****5:48 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**“You know at some point, we have to leave Smokey and go up to see my family…” **  
  
**“Before they invade your space?” Rosemary teased lightly from where she sat with her cat curled up in her lap purring like a mad fiend. **  
  
**“Exactly,” Andrew laughed. **  
  
**“I’ve missed my lovely one though,” she argued with a smile as she scratched at his cheeks, and Andrew swore the cat was smiling up at them. **  
  
**“Well, you were the one who opted to have him stay here while you went to deal with work for the last four days,” he countered with a smirk. **  
  
**“Never let me do that again,” Rosemary ordered lightly, before sighing, “Fine, fine, I’ll leave my precious one here to enjoy peace and quiet… besides, didn’t your family agree to Mad Quao?” **  
  
**“Yes, yes they did,” he nodded, watching as she moved the cat off her lap, and he could have sworn the feline gave him a dirty look before he stalked off to where the pillow that had traveled from Irvine with him was. **  
  
**After Andrew had returned from England, Smokey had returned to his place in the pool house so Arianna’s new cat didn’t have to get too used to another cat in the house that wouldn’t be staying. It had been easier to just go from LAX to Irvine to drop Rosemary off, then to make a side trip up to Rolling Hills, since she had work to deal with, especially since Maryanne had insisted on having dinner with them at the airport before her connection back to the Bay Area… And, they couldn’t very well refuse since it took all of Christmas Day for her to notice the ring that apparently her family had noticed and opted to quietly bring up to the couple instead of making a big fuss out of it. **  
  
**Maryanne had been determined to start discussing her ideas for the wedding as soon as they arrived at the airport the next day, and since they hadn’t had time to talk on the plane, due to all three having different seats… a sacrifice they had made so Maryanne couldn’t claim that they had purposely picked seats separate from her… they hadn’t been able to quite argue. **  
  
**Not to mention, hearing Maryanne’s theory for their wedding gave them a small insight into what type of fight they might end up having with her over their slowly forming theory. **  
  
**He had left early that morning to pick her up and bring her back to Rolling Hills after she closed Peet’s the night before, his family eager to see her, thus his attempts to pull her away from the smaller house to the main house. **  
  
**Rosemary stood, brushing cat hair from her jeans, before looking over at him and shrugging. He was reminded once more, why he loved this woman. She looked amazing, and perfect to him, and yet her face held an expression that showed she was feeling awkward and lost. And somehow, knowing she let him see how vulnerable she felt, made him love and cherish her all the more. **  
  
**“Come on,” he held out a hand to her, “My family loves you, they won’t bite, and they are going to be thrilled beyond belief.” **  
  
**“I know,” Rosemary smiled softly as she took his head, and he pulled her over into his arms, wrapping his arms loosely around her hips as his forehead found hers. “I just am not looking forward to all this talk of weddings and engagement parties that you say your mom will start…” **  
  
**“And living arrangements?” he guessed softly, watching her eyes fly up to his. He had watched her stumble over an answer when Colin had asked where they planned to live after the wedding, knowing she had always dreamed of living somewhere along the coast but neither of their potential incomes could afford the coast of southern California, and while her job options were potentially rather open, she didn’t think his were and was only vaguely hinting at concerns in their google doc conversation on the plane trip. “Whatever comes, we’ll work it out together, alright?” **  
  
**“I know,” she nodded after a moment. “Come on, let’s go celebrate the end of the year, and ring in a new year filled with nothing but happiness,” she smiled brightly up at him. Andrew opted to ignore the lingering worry and other emotions hiding in her eyes, to wait and plot a bit before calling her out on things. **  
  
**Together they left the pool house, and headed up to the main house where dinner was waiting as the traditional buffet style spread his mother put out so that people could come and go until they finally went to bed. **  
  
**Rosemary was quickly passed from person to person in hugs, and Andrew greeted Max who was there with Rachel - he used to his sister’s long-term boyfriend by this point. It wasn’t until she was hugging his mom, that Rachel who was looking up from getting a glass of sparkling cider saw Rosemary’s hand, and promptly let out a shriek that made the new feline resident of their house race out of the room like the devil himself was after her. **  
  
**Meanwhile, Max had dropped the cards he had been carrying from a game of Phase 10 with Donovan, and his father had dropped the remote control as he had been setting up Rudolph’s Shiny New Year to watch, as everyone turned to stare at Rachel… who was staring at his mother and fiance, mouth opening and closing comically. **  
  
**“You look like a fish… a happy fish, but a fish just the same,” Arianna pointed out as she stepped over to take the bottle away from her older sister before there was spilled cider everywhere. **  
  
**Brain realizing what must be happening, Andrew stepped up behind Rosemary, hand falling to the small of her back so she would know she wasn’t alone in whatever was about to happen as his mother took a step back from her to face her eldest daughter. **  
  
**“What in heaven’s name Rachel?” Claudia asked, shaking her head, “Did you have to cause such a ruckus?” **  
  
**“Hand,” she managed to get out, pointing towards them. **  
  
**Claudia stared at Rachel, before spinning on her heels to look at them, eyebrow rising. Andrew glanced down at Rosemary, who took a short but deep breath, then raised her hand up slowly. **  
  
**Five minutes later, Andrew now knew that his sisters got it from their mother, as both his mother and younger sister had let out delighted shrieks, followed by Rosemary being pulled into a hug by Claudia where he vaguely caught his mother whispering how happy she was into Rosemary’s ear. He was too busy being attacked with hugs and congratulations from his father as suddenly it was hugs all around, round two. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Monday, January 1st, 2018  
****Rolling Hills, California  
****1:15 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Once everyone had settled down from the surprise of the news of the engagement, it became more of a regular evening. **  
  
**Andrew suspected that part of it was his family was far from blind as to how uncomfortable Rosemary was as the center of attention, so they tried to get back to normal as quickly as they could. **  
  
**The evening was happily spent playing games, eating, and simply enjoying each others’ company. Talk of weddings was ignored entirely. They taught his family Mad Quao, and shared more than one picture and video to the facebooks of the adults, tagging each other so everyone could be equally embarrassed among their friends and family. The New Year was toasted with sparkling cider and new year kisses for the couples, then Arianna and Donovan were sent to bed while cleanup began. **  
  
**Rachel and Max had retired after the food was cleaned up, and his dad had stood at the Keurig making cup after cup of hot liquid for the remaining four as his mother requested they join them for a few minutes. He hadn’t been able to help but smile at Rosemary’s surprise when his dad set the four mugs down, and aside from his parents’ caramel latte and mocha latte, James slid a chai latte towards her while he grabbed his own hot chocolate. **  
  
**Reaching under the table, he found her knee and gently squeezed her leg, knowing that she was having a moment over the fact his family bothered to know she didn't drink coffee and loved chai. Yes, she may talk to people via text and Facebook, but she had only visited three times before today, so knowing her as he did, she probably was amazed and touched that they'd have chai for her. **  
  
**Especially knowing that no one in his family drank chai. **  
  
**“So,” Claudia began once James was seated. “I know you two probably haven't had much time to consider things…” she glanced at her husband, taking his hand in her own before focusing back on them, “but James and I wanted to make sure you understood how happy we are for both of you…” **  
  
**“Thank you,” Rosemary smiled softly, looking up at him. **  
  
**“And we wanted to make sure you both understand that we are here to help in any way you guys need.” **  
  
**“Which means, tell us what you want for your wedding,” James continued. “We want you guys to understand the idea that it is _your_ wedding, so we want to hear what you guys want. Andrew knows this already, but our parents were so focused on what they wanted for the wedding we ended up eloping and letting them argue over a reception.” **  
  
**“Oh, wow…” Rosemary glanced at him quickly, before looking back at his parents. “That's horrible…” **  
  
**“Thus part of why we made the wedding trusts,” Claudia shrugged, then looked at James, “I know we claimed it was because of your father's job,” she began before focusing back on him, “mostly it was so our children wouldn't have to do what we felt we had to.” **  
  
**Andrew reached out to catch his mother's hand in his own, “You two are amazing…” he began with a smile, “Thank you, I love you…” **  
  
**“We love you too…” James answered as Claudia just squeezed her son's hand. “So, have you had time to have any thoughts? And while we won't butt into wedding decisions, you have warned Rosemary about the engagement party…” he gave his son an appraising look. **  
  
**Andrew couldn't help but chuckle, “Oh yes, I've warned her we should expect a Mardi Gras themed party…” **  
  
**Rosemary shrugged, “I've never gone to an engagement party before… so since it's something you guys are throwing from what Andrew has implied, I can live with the theme of your choice…” **  
  
**Claudia laughed, “Oh honey, you just made my day. I know I won't get _any_ of my kids to do a N’awlins wedding, not that I want to force them of course, so gettin’ to include my heritage in the engagement party is all sorts of fun.” **  
  
**Andrew had to fight a smile as his mother's long-suppressed honeyed accent was slipping out. It only happened when they took family trips back to New Orleans, or she spoke of certain things like parties. It also reminded him of how Mary's Scottish lit only ever emerged when she was highly stressed. Catching his father's bemused smile, he knew his dad was enjoying hearing his mother forget to suppress her accent as well. **  
  
**“As for the actual wedding,” he began after a moment, glancing towards Rosemary before focusing on his parents. “We were thinking something smaller, and maybe a destination wedding.” **  
  
**“Neither of us like the idea of having to pick between northern and southern California, or like the idea of a big wedding because we had to invite everyone we and our families know…” Rosemary spoke up softly, and he gave her leg a quick squeeze, not surprised when she found his hand with her own. **  
  
**He wondered if his parents could hear the insecurity in her voice as loud as he did. **  
  
**“That sounds wonderful,” Claudia smiled warmly. “And honestly, I can't blame you…” **  
  
**“Any places you've been considering?” James asked as he rose to walk to the telephone drawer as they called it in the days before cell phones, returning moments later with a pad of paper and pen. **  
  
**“Actually, Europe,” Andrew answered, sending Rosemary a smile. “Scotland specifically. She wrote such a wonderful review when she went last Spring Break, that I decided then and there I wanted to go with her someday. And it means her ninety-three-year-old great-grandmother doesn't have to fly to here…” **  
  
**“Scotland sounds lovely,” Claudia smiled as James wrote. **  
  
**“Beyond that, we know we want to do it in summer, to work around the school year…” **  
  
**“This summer?” James looked between them. **  
  
**Rosemary turned to look at him, and Andrew shrugged lightly, “If we can pull a wedding off by this summer it's fine with me. More than fine…” **  
  
**“We'll have to tell my mother the truth…” she frowned slightly. **  
  
**“What?” Claudia frowned as she looked between them. **  
  
**Andrew sighed, “Maryanne said she needed at least a year to do the wedding, and _apparently_ it was part of her life plan for Rosemary that she be engaged at least a year…” **  
  
**“And I thought _my_ mom was odd,” James looked down at Claudia. **  
  
**“I know dear,” Claudia patted his hand out of habit, her full attention was on the two of them. “When did my son propose Rosemary?” **  
  
**Rosemary ducked her head, “He hypothetically proposed the day after his graduation party.” **  
  
**“Well done, son,” James grinned and Andrew couldn't help but smile back at his dad. **  
  
**“Hypothetically?” Claudia glanced between the three bewildered. **  
  
**“I asked her if she would marry me, if I had been asking after a relationship of two years like we should have had, instead of the complicated two years we did have,” Andrew explained, smiling at the memory. **  
  
**“I said yes, then told him to ask me again… I think I lost my mind for a moment, but haven't regretted it,” she shrugged. **  
  
**“So you've been engaged for six months…” **  
  
**Andrew shrugged at the look his mother was giving him, “We opted to keep it quiet for a bit, try to give Maryanne a chance to get used to me…” **  
  
**Claudia nodded, suddenly understanding, “How has that gone?” she asked softly. **  
  
**“I don't think my mom is going to like anyone I pick,” Rosemary admitted, “Especially since I didn't tell her about every date, and have her involved in my relationship so to speak. That and I think she thinks Andrew hates her…” **  
  
**He couldn't help the snort, it happened before he even had a conscious thought. When both his mother and his love turned to glare at him, he simply shrugged. What else could he do? **  
  
**Truth was, he didn't like her mother. **  
  
**Maryanne Douglas had done the best she could, as in the best she was either willing or able depending on the circumstances, and he could give her that… She wouldn't admit she could have done better, that perhaps her daughter deserved to know the story of her own father; that her daughter deserved those heirlooms she had shipped back to England when her parents died, at least the pictures of her own grandparents; that her daughter hadn't deserved every Tom, Dick, and Harry knowing what had happened to her that first year while Maryanne had to process it all… **  
  
**Maryanne wouldn't admit any of her part in what could be considered the tragedies of Rosemary's life. It was Lorenzo who abused her, so Maryanne got rid of him. She hadn't been able to keep her parent's possessions - the cost was too great. Rosemary's father had ended the relationship and besides, he wasn't responsible enough for a child. **  
  
**Andrew couldn't help simply not liking her and her habit of putting off the blame. **  
  
**Maybe it did cost too much to keep everything, or maybe it was really her own want to have it gone, she could have saved one or two pictures and packed them away. Maybe Rosemary's father had been irresponsible and ended the relationship so she had decided not to tell him he had a daughter, didn't mean Rosemary didn't deserve to know, to understand where she came from, to have the option whether Maryanne liked it or not to make her own choice regarding finding her father, it was _her_ life. And yes, Lorenzo had been the ultimate bad guy… but Maryanne had not been infallible in how she chose to handle it. **  
  
**And he might still be pissed, but he could be more accepting if the woman would only admit her flaws instead of trying to pretend she was great and it was out of her control, that she shouldn't be blamed, that _she_ was the victim… **  
  
**“Anyhow,” James began, stopping the staring match. “So, if you are having the wedding in Scotland, how big are you thinking guest wise?” **  
  
**“Immediate family and friends,” Rosemary turned back to his parents. “I'd guess somewhere around fifty… if we include our two separate circles of friends, and our families like grandparents, aunts and uncles, and first cousins in Andrew's case. My only family is a little different generation wise,” she offered with a small shrug.” **  
  
**“Fifty-ish, that makes a destination wedding pretty workable actually…” Claudia nodded. “So an engagement party will be the big event…” **  
  
**“We kinda figured that with everyone you two know…” Andrew agreed. **  
  
**“We will want to get your wedding registries done soon, so that people can go to them for gift ideas…” his mom grabbed the pad, flipping to another page and doing what she did best: plot, plan, and make lists. She glanced up at them, looked between them, “I know you probably haven't discussed where you are going to live yet… but you both realize that with everyone we know, and my extended family back east alone, you may be able to completely furnish your first home just from the engagement and wedding gifts…” **  
  
**Rosemary blinked several times as he watched her, he had already known this, before she turned her head to look at him. “Seriously?” **  
  
**The three of them all chuckled, it was impossible not to at the amazed look on her face. Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head, “Seriously, love,” he agreed softly. **  
  
**“Wow,” Rosemary whispered. “We definitely need to start thinking about this stuff…” **  
  
**“And engagement photos,” Claudia spoke as she wrote on the paper. **  
  
**“Actually,” Andrew smiled as he traced along her arm, “I already thought of that one…” **  
  
**“You did?” **  
  
**He suddenly had an image of his future, as his love and mother spoke in unison. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. **  
  
**“Well, we do have your Christmas present…” he spoke nonchalant, watching as Rosemary processed, and the giddy grin she wore as she had realized what he gave her for Christmas returned. Thankfully this time she wasn't jumping up and down in spot in pure excitement. **  
  
**“That's right, you gave her something other than a ring like we assumed when you arrived…” James began, looking between them, “so what _did_ you give her?” **  
  
**“Southern California resident passes to Disneyland, one for each of us.” **  
  
**“That’s lovely,” Claudia smiled, “So… are you thinking engagement pictures at Disneyland?” she quizzed for clarification. **  
  
**“Why not?” Andrew shrugged, “There’s stuff about it on their website, so getting it set up shouldn’t be too hard. And it means we have a definite reason to use our passes soon. ” **  
  
**“Have I mentioned I love you?” Rosemary asked with the same grin she had been wearing for minutes now. **  
  
**“Yes, often,” Andrew chuckled. **  
  
**“Well, that seems to settle that,” James laughed. **  
  
**“Why don’t we get some sleep, more plotting can be done later… And if you don’t mind giving me your mom’s contact information before you leave, I’ll handle explaining to her that we’re throwing an engagement party… once we have the date figured out,” Claudia added after a moment. **  
  
**“Mom, you are a saint,” Andrew smiled gratefully at his mother. **  
  
**“Your siblings never believe me,” James spoke with a smile as he gathered the mugs. “Go get some rest you two, we’ll see you later today.” **  
  
**“Thank you, for everything,” Rosemary spoke softly as she and his mom exchanged a quick hug. **  
  
**“Anytime sweetheart,” Claudia answered before pulling back, letting him offer his arm to Rosemary so they could walk to the pool house. “Goodnight dear ones.” **  
  
**The rest of the goodnights were exchanged, and soon they were traveling through the star-lit night to his temporary abode, Rosemary’s head resting against his shoulder as they slowly walked along the familiar path. **  
  
**“Your parents are amazing,” she spoke softly as they finished climbing down the steps. **  
  
**“Well, it helps that they love you.” **  
  
**“I can’t believe it still…” she admitted, and his heart broke a little, thinking back over how many reasons she had to doubt that people would love her, not just in this life. **  
  
**“Mary,” he began softly, stopping and turning to face her, his hand raising to cup her cheek. “My mother told me when I saw her after my graduation, before my party, that she knew we were it. She was talking then about engagement parties when it was time…” **  
  
**“Really?” she looked up at him, surprise in her voice. **  
  
**“Really,” he nodded, “my family adores you. All five of them. You’re stuck with the whole lot of us,” he added teasingly, but it was also a promise that he hoped she caught. **  
  
**Moments later, he had his arms full of her as she had thrown herself into him, wrapping her arms around him, “Good,” she whispered, “because I don’t want to give you up… or them.” **  
  
**“Never going to ask you to,” he promised as he kissed the top of her head. “Come on, let’s go get some sleep so later you can go website crazy setting up our engagement photos, and maybe we can work on that figuring out the registries thing to appease my mother.” **  
  
**“I get Disneyland,” she spoke softly, as he separated them to take her arm again and start back towards the pool house. He loved how innocently happy she sounded as she said that, and once more was pleased with his choice of Christmas gifts. **  
  
**For all that he had grown up not far from ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’, he had only made the two or three requisite trips during his life. It had been fun, but he hadn’t fully understood the obsession some people had. When he heard from Rose Lynn that his love had only ever been once, when she was six, even though the two cousins had a back and forth going in their letters about visits to the parks… Well, inspiration had struck. And, he figured maybe going with her, seeing it the way she did, would maybe help him understand that obsession. **  
  
**At the very least, he expected to quite enjoy himself, watching her enjoy herself. **  
  
**They arrived at the house, and got ready for bed quickly, as he wandered to make sure Smokey had food and water before returning to the bedroom where Rosemary was already curled up in bed. Smiling to himself, he thanked whatever God there was, that their relationship had jumped to this point before the trip to London, and he crawled into bed next to her, simply at peace to be sharing a bed with her again. He had always slept so much better when Mary had been in his bed in France, and the same was proving true on the nights they slept side by side in this life. **  
  
**It was going to truly suck when she returned to Irvine and he had to have this big bed all to himself again. In the meantime though, he vowed to savor every moment as she rolled over and curled into his side. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Monday, January 1st, 2018  
****Rolling Hills, California  
****6:43 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**“How are you doing?” Rachel asked as she sat down on the couch next to Rosemary. **  
  
**Glancing over at her future sister-in-law, Rosemary shrugged, “As well as anyone can be I suppose…” **  
  
**“Oh?” Rachel glanced over at the screen, “Ahh, working on Mom’s demands I see…” she chuckled as she spotted the Chrome window with tabs for bridal registries. “Shouldn’t my brother be helping you make decisions?” **  
  
**“He is, he just went to check if he could help with dinner while I debated between Kohls and Macy’s.” **  
  
**“Personally, Macy’s is awesome and all, but Kohls is just as good…” **  
  
**“And more in the budget of my side of things,” Rosemary admitted. **  
  
**“So, haven’t told him yet huh?” Rachel asked softly. **  
  
**“Shh,” she hissed at the other woman, “I’m keeping that quiet preferably permanently…” **  
  
**“He’s going to care more that you felt the need to hide from him how things are than that you are getting help making ends meet,” Rachel reminded her for thetenth time in the past six weeks. **  
  
**“That may be true in the end, but initially he is going to be pissy that I didn’t just ask him for help,” Rosemary countered, knowing one thing that hadn’t changed about Andrew since he was Francis… He’d want to play knight in shining armor, especially since he could afford to. And he wouldn’t understand one bit why she insisted on getting help from a food bank instead of just admitting that he could and would gladly help. **  
  
**Except, she wasn’t comfortable with her significant other buying her food, fiance even, when they lived in not only separate houses but separate cities. She couldn’t argue them splitting the cost of living expenses, if they lived together, even if logically it meant she brought in far less than half of the money while she was finishing her schooling and starting her way into her chosen career field. It would be pretty easy for him to do more than half anyway, being as his chosen career had a much better pay scale than hers. **  
  
**However, they didn’t live together, or in the same city, and she had to be nice to her mother’s sensibilities while she could if she wanted to live with her mother for the rest of her mother’s life. Moving in with her boyfriend, well fiance, was not exactly a way to earn brownie points with her mother. It was probably stupid, undoubtedly ridiculous, but she didn’t know how else to deal with her own mother. And even Allison’s suggestions she simply tell her mother how she felt… well, that only worked so far when her mother only listened so much before drawing her own conclusions and then giving her the cold shoulder or potentially years of guilt treatment. **  
  
**She was still paying for choosing to skip Prom and denying her mother the chance to have the classic prom events with her only daughter. Forget the fact it saved them probably well over three-hundred dollars, she had denied herself, and her mother by extension, the classic Prom pictures and Senior Year experience… She would never live it down. **  
  
**God forbid she didn’t encourage her kids to go to Prom so they wouldn’t regret it ‘like she would’. **  
  
**“Anyway,” Rachel drew her attention back, “Did I hear Mom and Dad right, you guys are doing engagement photos at Disneyland?” **  
  
**“Yes,” Rosemary couldn’t help but grin again, her inner Disney girl all atwitter at Andrew’s suggestion. **  
  
**“I am completely jealous,” Rachel laughed, “remind me to do that when I get engaged…” **  
  
**“Should I be preparing your brother?” she looked Rachel up and down with a small smile. **  
  
**“Oh lord no, I’m not ready yet. And I’m pretty sure it’s not even crossed Max’s mind… thankfully…” **  
  
**Rosemary frowned slightly, “Is that thankfully because you don’t see that for you and Max, or just a timing thing?” **  
  
**“Oh!” Rachel looked over at her quickly, “Timing… definitely timing, it didn’t sound the other way did it?” **  
  
**“It was up to interpretation,” she admitted. “I get it though.” **  
  
**“Good,” Rachel sighed, “I love Max, and I can’t imagine my life without him… but I want to get some more college done before we start contemplating things like engagement photos and bridal registries…” she nodded towards the laptop. **  
  
**“I completely understand that,” Rosemary smiled, “Though, feel free to take from what will be my fountain of knowledge.” **  
  
**“Oh yes, you’re my test dummy don’t you know that?” Rachel teased. **  
  
**“Yea for me?” she glanced at the other woman before they both started to giggle. **  
  
**“So,” Rachel began once they had their giggles under control. “I’d definitely go with Kohls. Are you guys just doing one or more than one?” **  
  
**“Honestly, we were leaning towards just one, why we were looking at places like Macy’s and Kohl’s since they have most everything in one location you know?” **  
  
**“Makes sense,” Rachel nodded. “So does that mean you guys are going to be taking stock of what you have, and start looking for a place to figure out what you need to sign up for?” **  
  
**Rosemary sighed, “Yeah, that’s something we’re starting tomorrow. I mean we both know the basic extent of what we each have, it’s figuring out how big of a place we want to look for, and where so we can start the actual registry soon since your brother suspects your mother will be aiming for a February engagement party…” **  
  
**“Mom’s always wanted to do a Mardi Gras engagement… thanks for rescuing the rest of us from that…” **  
  
**She snorted, she couldn’t help the uncontrolled moment of a laugh, “You think I _saved_ you? Your mom might just try to pull it again with you guys…” **  
  
**“Right, get engaged in summer and announce it in summer,” Rachel laughed. “I’ll tell Ari and Donnie too…” **  
  
**“And Max?” she teased lightly. **  
  
**“Something like that,” Rachel shrugged. “Any idea on when you guys are going to get engagement photos done?” **  
  
**“Actually, we spent all morning poking around the Disney Weddings site and found a photographer through there we liked. We had already been talking making our first trip when I have a four day weekend next month, with Monday being King Jr. Day so Andrew should have it off too. So we reached out to the photographer to see if there’s an opening, or if not could they suggest others since we found them through the Disney site and all…” **  
  
**“Cool,” Rachel nodded. “Want help figuring out an outfit?” **  
  
**Rosemary looked at her companion and smiled with relief, “Please,” she admitted. **  
  
**Rachel couldn’t help but chuckle, “I figured. Maybe we’ll see about one of those dapper things, or that Disney inspired trend…” **  
  
**“Disneybound,” she auto supplied the name, before shaking her head, “I think I like the dapper idea more. Disneybound is neat and all, but I can’t imagine who I’d try to be inspired by…” **  
  
**Rachel nodded, “Dapper, I can have fun with dapper…” she began, before a slow, truly evil smile started to spread across her face, “Oh, I’m having ideas already. I’ll start emailing as soon as I find stuff online, but I’m completely thinking forties…” **  
  
**Rosemary laughed as she worked on creating the registry for Kohl’s, “You are crazy, you know that?”

“Well, what’s the bonus of having a future sister who’s involved in costume design…” Rachel shrugged. **  
  
**“Very true,” she nodded, “Between you and Sasha, I never have to worry about Halloween for life.” **  
  
**“Or weddings,” Rachel pointed out, watching her as Rosemary’s head shot up and she turned to look at the blonde. **  
  
**“What?” Rosemary just stared at her, completely lost. **  
  
**“Well,” Rachel shrugged, “You’re not getting married until summer right? That’s plenty of time to make a dress…” **  
  
**“Are you offering to make my wedding dress?” she blinked at the younger woman. **  
  
**“Pretty much, yeah,” Rachel grinned, “You should totally see your face…” **  
  
**“I don’t even know what I want to wear for a dress…” **  
  
**“So go online, look for ideas, then send them to me and we will talk,” Rachel shrugged as she stood. “Think about it, if you find something pre-made you like better don’t worry, but if you want, I’m more than happy to help.” **  
  
**“Okay…” Rosemary agreed slowly, watching Rachel walk out of the room, her brain still trying to catch up. **  
  
**She was still sitting there staring after Rachel’s lost form when Andrew wandered into the room, coming over to lean over the couch behind her and kiss the top of her head. **  
  
**“What’s so interesting upstairs?” **  
  
**She blinked a few times, before tilting her head back to look up at him, “Your sister just offered to make my wedding dress.” **  
  
**Andrew’s eyebrow rose, but otherwise, he seemed unfazed as he shrugged, “That’s Rachel. Did she offer help with the engagement party too?” **  
  
**“No,” she shook her head, “She offered to help Dapper us for the engagement photos…” **  
  
**“Dapper? Aren’t those the singers on Main Street?” **  
  
**“Those are the Dapper Dans. Similar. Dapper Day is held at Disneyland, World, and Paris - it’s when you come dressed in style so to speak, any decade, but you just dress up,” she explained as she sat up and opened a new tab so she can type in ‘Disney Dapper’ into the search engine, pulling up the image results so he could see some of the pictures of past events. **  
  
**“So, wear something from any time before the fifties,” Andrew nodded, “That could be fun.” **  
  
**“Apparently she’s already got ideas and is thinking the forties,” she explained with a shrug. “Your sister is scary… **  
  
**“You get used to her,” Andrew shrugged. **  
  
**“Done helping with dinner?” she glanced at him while closing the tab she had just opened. **  
  
**“Mom kicked me out,” he admitted, “Said I had more important things to do…” **  
  
**“She’s scarier than your sister…” **  
  
**“You get used to her, too,” he chuckled. “Did you decide between the two?” **  
  
**“Rachel confirmed my tendencies towards Kohls,” she nodded towards the screen where she had been filling in the bridal registry and started back on it now. **  
  
**“Kohls is good…” **  
  
**“She also pointed out we had to figure out how much stuff we would need…” she spoke softly as she typed. **  
  
**“So,” Andrew began slowly, “that means we need to talk housing plans doesn’t it?” **  
  
**“Can we still do that later?” she looked over at him, “I think I’m ready for a bit of simple fun, not that hunting online for hours planning a wedding isn’t fun…” she shrugged slightly with a half smile. **  
  
**“It gets old, quick,” he offered with a smile. **  
  
**“Yeah,” she nodded. “Game, movie, something… _please_?” **  
  
**“Deal,” Andrew chuckled, reaching over to close his laptop. “After dinner. Maybe we’ll get a game of Mad Quao in before we have to get you back to Irvine for work tomorrow.” **  
  
**“Sounds wonderful,” she smiled, tilting her head back to look up at him. “How long til dinner?”  
  
“Ten, fifteen minutes top is my guess…” **  
  
**“Good,” she smiled, before patting the spot next to her. Andrew smirked, then walked around the couch to sit down, arm extended on the couch back behind her as she curled into his side. “Bring me back to reality when it’s time for food,” she instructed as she snuggled into his side, taking and releasing a deep breath as she let her eyelids slide closed and simply enjoyed the peace of being in his arms. His light chuckle made her pillow move slightly, but beyond that he did nothing more than lower his arm to wrap along her side, holding her close while she relaxed.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my darlings,  
> An incredibly long week has passed, but I made it.
> 
> Now, on to wedding plans and the trip to Disneyland for Andrew's birthday...

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
****Chapter 6  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018  
****Irvine, California  
****10:14 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**“Feel better?” Andrew asked as she exited the bathroom. **  
  
**After a long day at Peet’s, she had come home, said hello and headed straight for the shower while he did something on his laptop on the futon. Rubbing the towel over her hair, she made her way out to where he sat, claiming the arm of the frame to look over his shoulder. She wasn’t surprised to see him looking at housing sites. **  
  
**“Do I wonder why you’re here when I got home from work?” she countered with a smile, “And yes, I feel infinitely better… I no longer smell like coffee.” **  
  
**“Nope, now you smell like almonds and mint,” he spoke even as he stared at the laptop, clicking through tabs. “I got Chinese, it’s living in your Corningware collection in the oven…” **  
  
**Shaking her head, she rose and went to put away the towel before heading into the kitchenette. Grabbing an oven mitt, she started pulling out various Corningware dishes, finding white rice, chow mein, mushroom chicken, beef and broccoli, Mongolian pork, snow peas with shrimp, and a collection of spring rolls, crab rangoons, and pot stickers. He never exactly did things small. **  
  
**She arranged them on the stove top, then went in search of plates and serving utensils, making up two plates. She hummed to herself, turning on the Keurig so she could make herself a cup of oolong as she hunted for the chopsticks and a glass for his preferred iced tea. Setting the plates on the counter, she lined up the utensils, found the sweet and sour sauce in the fridge and added it to the counter with his tea, then turned back to dealing with her own hot tea. **  
  
**She wasn’t exactly surprised to find him at one of the two bar stools when she turned back with her teacup, his laptop left on the futon next to where Smokey was curled up sound asleep. **  
  
**“So…” she prompted after they had eaten quietly for a few minutes. “Are you crazily planning the two-hour commute to L.A. in the morning?” **  
  
**“That’s my plan,” Andrew smiled softly. “After all, we had things to do today…” **  
  
**“Thus the websites,” she glanced back over her shoulder at the laptop. **  
  
**“Thus the websites,” he agreed, looking over at her as she turned back towards dinner. Leaning forward he pressed his lips to her forehead in a soft kiss, before turning back to food as well. **  
  
**She was thankful for that small kiss, it helped ground her as she had started to worry about apartments and finances and everything else he’d been convincing her to not worry about for the last twenty-four hours. **  
  
**Releasing a slow breath, she nodded slowly, “So… find anything interesting?” **  
  
**“Actually, found a couple options here in Irvine,” Andrew answered easily, and she blinked twice before looking over at him. **  
  
**“You work in L.A.” **  
  
**“I know.” **  
  
**“Why are you looking at places to live two hours drive, on a good commute day, from your work?” she pressed, watching as he easily picked up an egg roll with his chopsticks and dipped it into the sweet and sour sauce. **  
  
**“Your work is here.” **  
  
**Rosemary just stared at him, “I can transfer to any Peet’s in the area, or go to another coffee shop if need be… Peet’s should _not_ dictate where we live.” **  
  
**“It’s not,” he countered, reaching for his glass. “Plaza Vista is.” **  
  
**She blinked at him, turned to stare at her kitchen, before turning back to look at him as she tried to follow his logic leap. “Andrew… I’m only at Plaza Vista for my internship. My program ends at the beginning of the summer… Why should the school make a difference?” **  
  
**“Because you have a higher chance of getting hired on as a teacher, or substitute teacher, with the district you’re already working with than going to some other location during your first year with your certificate.” He turned fully towards her to look at her then, the challenging look in his eye daring her to argue the validity of his statement. **  
  
**“I…” she started, before snapping her mouth closed, not sure how to argue with him. **  
  
**“If I do well in my internship with BH, and manage to get hired for the graduate program…” **  
  
**“Which _everyone_ is telling you is pretty damn likely,” she interrupted, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned towards him, “So explain to me why we _aren’t_ living closer to your job?” **  
  
**Andrew shook his head, “Mary,” he began softly, and his use of her old name, what they were slowly letting people think was his nickname for her, showed how serious he was about this more than anything else. “If I get in with BH, they have locations here, up north in San Francisco, in New York, Boston, Chicago, Maine… As well as _various_ locations in England and Scotland, Germany, Dubai, Poland… There may come a point they want to transfer me _anywhere_ …” **  
  
**“I’d go with you, you _know_ that,” she frowned, not sure why he was pointing this out. She had done her own research into the engineering company when he told her where his internship was, she knew where they were located. **  
  
**“I _know_ ,” he countered softly, reaching out to brush his fingers down her cheek. “I’d rather see you have a chance to _really_ get some experience under your belt before you end up following me potentially halfway around the world and find it harder to find a job in the occupation _you_ want to be in. Let me be selfish in this, _please_ …” **  
  
**Sighing softly, she nodded, “Fine. Next time we move I get to go house hunting first though,” she countered with a small smile. **  
  
**“Deal,” Andrew smiled back. “So, I looked around town and decided living near the university was probably something neither of us wanted, for ambiance and financial reasons…” he raised an eyebrow for confirmation. She nodded as she turned back to pick up her tea, watching out of the corner of her eye as he turned back to his shrimp. “So, I glanced around this area and found a townhouse in a gated community that I really like, and a few other condos in other communities. All are cat-friendly…” **  
  
**“That’s good,” she nodded, “Why a townhouse?” **  
  
**“Well, at first I was looking at the condos in that community, then I noticed the townhouses and glanced as a curiosity you know…” She nodded and he continued, “The townhouses are three bedrooms instead of the two we had discussed, but they don’t have any office space so I thought maybe the third bedroom could work…” **  
  
**“As an office,” she nodded, “what else does it have?” **  
  
**“The first floor has a patio in back, half bath, the living and dining room are one big space with the kitchen at the opposite end from the patio leading into the garage. The front door is in the living room next to where the dining room section is according to the online floor plans. Upstairs is a bedroom above the kitchen, the second bedroom is mid-building and there’s a bathroom off the same hallway that connects them to the stairs. A master bedroom, bathroom, and walk-in-closet takes the entire back part of the house.” **  
  
**She nodded, running it over in her head, “Laundry?” **  
  
**“Off the kitchen. There’s a fireplace in the living room, which has a linen closet behind it. There’s a coat closet by the stairs and a small storage area out back off the patio. The bedroom above the kitchen also has a walk-in so I thought even though it looks like the bigger of the two bedrooms we could use the middle bedroom as the office.” **  
  
**“Bigger is fine, we can both fit our stuff in it then. And the walk-in means when we do have guests, they have plenty of storage space for clothes and suitcases…” she nodded slowly. “Besides I assume the security you wanted with the community, what other perks does it have?” **  
  
**“Three pools, three spas, three play areas for kids and an outdoor Barbeque area if I remember correctly…” he paused in getting his noodles on the chopsticks as he thought, “a fitness center, a business center with computer access, a recreation center with theater and craft room, some sort of scheduled activities for residents… It’s near the Santa Ynez Community Park, and you get Westpark Association privileges… which I have no clue what that means,” he admitted with a shrug. **  
  
**“Irvine from what I can tell has housing developments where it’s really its own community with paths connecting each individual housing complex to each other and shopping and such. Wespark is one of the ones near the school, so we’d have access to the other parks, bar-b-que locations, and such.” Rosemary hoped she was remembering what she had picked up from people talking at Peet’s correctly. **  
  
**“Well,” Andrew shrugged, “I’m sure the manager will explain in detail. Also, hardwood floors like you wanted, and a home security system to boot.” **  
  
**“You’re ecstatic,” she laughed lightly. **  
  
**“Indeed,” he agreed with a smile. **  
  
**“Alright,” Rosemary chuckled, “Let’s give this townhouse you like so much a look, and we’ll look at other places if it doesn’t work out.” **  
  
**Andrew’s smile grew, before he reached over and stole her potsticker. **  
  
**“Hey!” she jabbed him with her chopsticks, “give it back!” **  
  
**“Nope,” he smiled before popping it into his mouth. **  
  
**“You know this means war,” she grumbled as she stole one of his shrimp and slid off her stool in an easy move, already knowing he was going to follow as she darted away towards the back of the house, enjoying her ill-gotten shrimp even as he gave chase. **  
  
**This… this right here was something she was really looking forward to with their new home, and new life together. The simple play, the enjoyment of each other. As much as she was nervous about her mother, nervous about the wedding planning, she could admit she couldn’t wait for this to be a nightly reality. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Friday, January 19th, 2018  
****Anaheim, California  
****8:18 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**He had managed to surprise Rosemary when they drove back from his picking her up in Irvine the night before, and he could admit he was more than a little pleased with himself that he had managed to actually pull off the surprise. **  
  
**She had assumed that they would be staying at Rolling Hills and driving to Anaheim, so he had been quite smug when he turned off the freeway and headed towards Anaheim while she had been napping after a long day of teaching and a quick four-hour shift at Peet’s. He was even able to hold his surprise until the last possible moment, as she didn’t wake until he had pulled up to the valet for the Disneyland Hotel. **  
  
**She had looked around, half awake, and completely confused, until his comment of ‘surprise’ made her blink several times before she seemed to process he had done something. At that point, she had simply given him the ‘look’, before she actually processed where they were and the ‘you spent money’ look transformed to the one he had been hoping for. **  
  
**Pure, unadulterated, joy spread over her face and she quite honestly had squealed before launching across the front seat at him to wrap her arms around him, a chorus of ‘thank you’ echoing in his ear. **  
  
**He explained as they walked into the hotel how he had checked them in earlier, and they were here until Monday, since it simply made more sense to stay near the park for their big day tomorrow. She had resumed the ‘you spent money’ look upon realizing they were staying in a club level room, relenting only slightly when she looked out the window and discovered they were staring at the parking lot. It had taken him several minutes to point out that the club level was for the added benefits, and he didn’t care about the extra money. **  
  
**Besides, it was his birthday, and he wanted to celebrate. **  
  
**Rosemary hadn’t been able to argue after that; accepted, and moved on, especially when she walked into the bathroom and found the basket he had arranged, which she had brought out and set on the bed before promptly jumping up so she landed on her knees on the bed and started sorting through, oohing and awing appropriately. To his amusement, the entire time she sorted through the collection of chocolates: pretzels, peanuts, jelly beans, and bars; she kept the small stuffed Mickey Mouse firmly against her breast with one arm. **  
  
**She had wrinkled her nose upon finding the four mini tins of coffee - claiming them for other uses after he drank his coffee, and the chocolate espresso beans, while eying the Mickey travel mug longingly before pushing the three coffee related things towards him. The Mickey Ears chocolate coins set was placed carefully on the end table, and she had already broken open the box of shortbread when she scooted back to sit against the pillows. **  
  
**The entire time he had been leaning against the wall across from the bed, watching with a bemused smile as she continued to radiate this immense joy that he hadn’t truly seen her do before. **  
  
**Within fifteen minutes of being settled in their room, he had decided he knew what he wanted to do for their honeymoon, and was making plans to bring her back to any Disney park as often as he could in the years to come. He still hadn’t been sure what she saw that he never had when he was younger visiting the parks… However, he would happily spend endless hours at the parks if he got to watch her react this way every time. **  
  
**They had munched on their goodies, and discussed plans for the remaining days at the park after their day of engagement photos, and called it a night before too long knowing they were supposed to be meeting the photographer in the lobby at nine-fifteen before Disneyland opened at ten. **  
  
**They had risen early, dressing in comfortable clothes as they went to raid the continental breakfast provided as part of the Club Level, then returned to the room to get dressed in the outfits his sister had produced. **  
  
**Rachel had lived up to her forties idea, and he had an ensemble comprised of a three-piece grey suit, over a white dress shirt with a red bow tie to match the red of Rosemary’s very forties red and white polka-dot dress. He had been lectured endlessly via text and phone call to not let his curls go wild, so he did what he could to give them some sort of sense of order while Rosemary had worked away with a curling iron on her own hair. By the time she had finished her make-up and hair, he had to pause, as, with her ringlets and the dress, he could see her walking off the set of a World War II movie. **  
  
**To say he thought she was the loveliest thing he had seen would be an understatement, and he made a note later to thank his sister. **  
  
**Rosemary had a habit of covering up, so this was quite possibly the first time he had seen her in a dress that ended anywhere above her ankles, and having the joy of her bare arms, bare legs, bare shoulders… He made a note to find his sister some nice trinket from the park in payment as Rosemary did a little twirl in her matching red heels. **  
  
**They had been individually informed of their own outfits beforehand, though neither had seen the other’s until today. However, his sister had held one surprise hostage, and it wasn’t until they were both dressed and ready to go that they finally got to find out what was hidden away in the wrapped boxes that not only Rachel, but his mother, had threatened pain of death if they opened ahead of time. **  
  
**Setting the two long boxes side by side on the bed, they had opened their own together, and he had let a small amused chuckle loose at what his held, while Rosemary had gasped over hers. Glancing over to see what she had, he finally understood his mother’s part in the threat, as Rachel had managed to work in a nod to his mother’s New Orleans heritage. While Rosemary had gently brushed her fingers over the lace of the parasol in her box, he had explained the tradition in New Orleans of the wedding parades, and that the bride and groom often had parasols or umbrellas. His sister and mother had seemingly decided to combine her Disney love with his mother’s heritage, and she had a replica of the parasol Mary Poppins had during the animated sequence, while he had his own parrot-head umbrella. **  
  
**They made it downstairs a few minutes early, finding a spot to sit and wait for the photographer to arrive. **  
  
**Amanda was eager to start pictures and full of praise for their outfits and especially the accessories. Upon finding out the story, she insisted they would get plenty of pictures in New Orleans Square, and after a few pictures there at the hotel lobby they were off to the Park. **  
  
**They had started the day with a stop at the hat shop on Main Street, intending to get the bridal set of Mickey and Minnie Ears to be used in a few pictures, only to decide they hadn’t particularly cared for them and instead opted for the Haunted Mansion hats for bride and groom. It seemed more fitting that his hat be a top hat anyway considering his three-piece suit. **  
  
**Hats on, they wandered from one end of the park to the other as the day progressed, getting pictures in front of the castle, with Mickey and Minnie, with Jack Sparrow and Cinderella, and even a random cast member. They managed to catch Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters which led to an entertaining couple of photos as the sisters tried to get his attention in one, and they all turned their nose up to Rosemary in another. They had pictures from the carousel, from a hidden Mickey, from sharing a dole whip and watching a parade, even from the teacup that was a photo op where they shared a kiss, to riding Dumbo. **  
  
**There were plenty of pictures from New Orleans Square, parasol and umbrella in use, and sitting down to their lunch at Cafe Orleans where she had the French Onion Soup and the house salad while he happily enjoyed a Monte Cristo - and Rosemary had simply stared at his sandwich in shock when it showed up with powdered sugar and the berry puree. **  
  
**Amanda had happily told him when she had a moment, that she got a picture of Rosemary’s expression, and declared it priceless. **  
  
**After Mickey shaped beignets to share, and a change of hat, they were on their way for the second half of the day. While she had been looking around at other things in the hat shop that morning, he had secretly grabbed a headband with Minnie's ears and a red and white polka-dot bow, stashing it with Amanda for later. When he attempted to surprise her with her new mouse ears, so she would look even more like Minnie in her outfit, she had done the same to him. Only instead of some sort of ears, she had gotten him the Jack Skellington top hat while he'd been busy getting her Minnie's ears. **  
  
**Amanda had taken some pictures of them outside the Plaza Inn where he had made dinner reservations, then wandered off to get a quick bite with orders to text her before they left, so they could meet again to try to get some pictures as night had fallen, and she and Rosemary had been insistent there were many more opportunities at night. **  
  
**After a quiet, peaceful dinner at the restaurant, they skipped dessert and told Amanda to meet them at the Jolly Holiday Bakery to get dessert instead, partially because Rosemary wanted Creme Brulee, partially because it seemed rather appropriate to get a picture with the restaurant’s name in the background considering their accessories. After the quick pictures, they darted inside to grab her desert and his brownie, his coffee and her tea. **  
  
**When they returned outside, Amanda was grinning like the Cheshire cat, but he had opted not to ask and he figured Rosemary hadn’t noticed as she was too busy with her tea while they went to find a place to wait for the fireworks and whatever pictures were still to come. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Saturday, January 20th, 2018  
****Anaheim, California  
****12:21 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**“Thank you,” she spoke softly as they rode the elevator up to their level, mostly leaning against him at the moment. They had stuck around the park just watching as people left after Amanda said goodbye with promises to email a few early proofs in the next couple of days, and truthfully a day in heels had her feet far from happy with her. **  
  
**“For?” Andrew's voice held traces of his confusion as she felt him shift slightly, probably turning his head to look down at her, though she didn’t move to confirm any of her suspicions. **  
  
**“All this,” she waved the hand, that had her parasol hooked on her wrist, to indicate the elevator and in some ways everything that was the complex they were in. “This is amazing, today and everything. Especially since it's _your_ birthday, and you aren't even the Disney fan in this relationship.” **  
  
**“Sweetheart,” he started before the elevator came to a stop. “Hold that thought,” he instructed, before the doors opened and they were exiting, making their way to the room. He stayed quiet as they stepped inside and he set down the bag that held their first set of hats from the day, along with his umbrella, she watching quietly from the closed door at her back. **  
  
**He turned, looked at her a moment before just shaking his head, “Come here,” he spoke quietly, but she went without question, moving to stand in front of him. “You're right, I'm not the big Disney fan between us,” he began, raising her hand to remove the parasol from her wrist, “That doesn't mean I necessarily _dislike_ Disney, I enjoy the movies and _quite_ enjoyed today,” he continued as he set her parasol with his umbrella. **  
  
**“I did too,” she smiled up at him, she had known he was enjoying himself, but it was good to have it confirmed from him. **  
  
**“I know,” he smiled, the one that just lit up his whole face, “Would I have picked this as the way to celebrate my birthday a few years ago, probably not. Do I have any regrets? No,” he shook his head even as he answered his own question. “Disneyland, when it's just because it's required to go as a local, isn't nearly as fun as going with someone who truly enjoys the experience. I can't explain what makes it different, but it _is_ different with you. Maybe I'm seeing things I just never saw before, but I am quite enjoying things so far and looking forward to the next two days.” **  
  
**“Good,” she smiled up at him. “I’d hate to think you regret spending your birthday here.” **  
  
**“My darling Mary,” he shook his head, reaching out to frame her face with his hands, “I could never regret anything about spending my birthday here with you, even if Donald Duck managed to spill soup on me somehow,” he added with a grin. **  
  
**She rolled her eyes at the image, “Really?” she asked with a bemused smile. “That’s your worst case scenario?” **  
  
**“Mm hmm,” he hummed, leaning down to press his lips gently to hers, “Unless you’re telling me that Prince Charming might be able to steal you away from me, an impossible to understand Donald Duck trying to apologize for spilling soup is my worst case scenario” **  
  
**She wrinkled her nose, “No, no worries about Prince Charming, I’ve never been spectacularly big on Cinderella.” **  
  
**“That’s good to hear,” he murmured, reaching up to remove her ears and set them down with the other items. “I really don’t want to have to chase you via shoe.” **  
  
**Rosemary laughed outright as he came back, “Says the man who has the bad habit of just leaving his shoes by my couch or chairs, wherever he chooses to taken them off.” **  
  
**“Of course, should you need to find me via shoe, you have options,” he teased as he circled around behind her, her head tilting to try to follow him, before she shivered as he trailed his fingers along her shoulders. “Though, I suspect this birthday trip will be one I’ll never regret, regardless of what Donald or Charming could do,” he murmured a moment later, lips finding the skin at the back of her neck. “I seriously need to send my sister a thank you text later.” **  
  
**“Oh?” she asked, proud of herself for not sounding as breathless as she felt, as his lips trailed along her spine down to where the fabric of her dress started, then along the sweep of the dress until he reached her shoulder. **  
  
**“Oh yes,” he agreed with a smile against her skin. “I haven’t seen this much of your shoulders since your cousin’s wedding. It’s been _incredibly_ distracting all day,” he smirked as he stepped back around to stand in front of her, fingers trailing up and down her arms just light enough to send goosebumps along her skin. **  
  
**“Has it?” she asked with a small smile. **  
  
**“You have no idea,” he smiled, before catching her lips with his own. **  
  
**She was lost in the usual sea of feelings and sensations as they spent minutes just standing near the door, exchanging kisses, before oxygen became a necessity and they separated reluctantly, though she didn’t give up any argument as he caught her hand and pulled her with him farther into the room. **  
  
**“So, is this your way of saying you’d like me to expose my shoulders more?” she asked with an amused smile. **  
  
**“Sweetheart, I love seeing you in things that expose more skin, preferably only if you’re comfortable of course, but I do cherish the easy access it provides,” he explained as they paused near the bed, and he moved behind her again, his lips trailing across her skin once more before she felt his fingers at the zipper at her **  
  
**“I’ll keep that in mind,” she whispered, sucking in a quick breath of air as shivers moved up and down her spine in response to his lips following the line of the open zipper. **  
  
**Andrew hummed against her skin in agreement once more, before he reached up to lower the cap sleeves down her arms, and Rosemary just held her breath. **  
  
**Between their work schedules and such, while they’d had some time to just be together and explore more of the physical side of their relationship, it hadn’t been much in all honesty. They’d always had reasons to be up early the next morning, or some other reason that while he’d started taking the lead a bit more, testing her boundaries, they hadn’t had much chance to truly just spend time exploring what could be between them. **  
  
**“Breathe,” Andrew whispered against her skin, “Keep breathing my love.” **  
  
**She released a long breath, before turning around to face him as he straightened, “I love you,” she whispered, raising her hands to frame his face as he so often did her. **  
  
**“I love you,” he answered, catching one of her hands to bring it to his lips. “You trust me?” **  
  
**“Always,” she answered with a bright smile, recognizing what had become his new routine. **  
  
**“You’ll tell me if I’ve upset you?” **  
  
**“Promise,” she whispered, before rising up on her toes to press her lips to his. As their tongues tangled in the age old dance, she let her hands lower to the buttons on his jacket, undoing them slowly, before pushing it off his shoulders, then letting them return to undo the buttons on his vest. **  
  
**His hands were equally busy, tracing up and down her sides as he let her work at removing some of his layers. Only when she had undone the line of button on his white shirt, did he catch her hands and raise them up over her head, letting his fingers trailer down along the length of her arms, just light enough to raise more goosebumps, before he continued lower as he slowly sunk to his knees before her, not stopping his hands gentle path until he reached her shoes. **  
  
**She’d simply shook her head as he carefully lifted one foot and removed her heel, tossing it towards the desk, before repeating the action with the other foot. Both of her feet back on the ground, his hands trailed up her legs again even as he rose, catching the skirt of her dress that he slowly raised over her hips, then sides, and finally over her head, letting it drop to the floor behind her. Swallowing back the butterflies taking over her stomach, she let her hands fall to his shoulders, even as his returned to frame her face, his lips capturing her own in a gentle caress. **  
  
**“So beautiful,” his whispered against her lips, his nose brushing against her own. **  
  
**She couldn't help the snort that escaped, and somehow wasn’t surprised when he pulled back to look at her, eyebrow quirked, “My opinion, I'm allowed whatever opinion I want, and you just have to live with that.” **  
  
**She just rolled her eyes, knowing she couldn't convince him that she didn't see how she was beautiful anymore than she could convince him to change his opinion that she was beautiful. Same as she adored his curls and he merely tolerated them as a part of life, they each had their own opinions of beauty in the other and themselves. **  
  
**At least Andrew didn't chastise her that her opinion was wrong about herself, like her mother would, or some of her friends could. He accepted that no one could convince her of her physical value. Somehow, that made her feel better, knowing that while she didn’t see what he saw, she didn’t have to worry about him arguing with her, telling her she was wrong. To be completely accepted for who she was, took away a lot of her self-conscious nature. Shy she could still be, nervous about the unknown, but so far she’d always been comfortable around him in a way she’d never been with anyone else. **  
  
**Andrew’s lips trailing along her shoulder once more drew her back to the present, and she realized he was waiting for her to be back in the moment, as he straightened to brush his lips against her forehead. “We okay?” **  
  
**“We’re okay,” she agreed with a smile. **  
  
**“Good. I think we should take advantage of our completely uninterrupted time together.” **  
  
**“I’m all yours,” she answered honestly, before rising up on her toes to press her lips to his own. **  
  
**Andrew chuckled lightly as their lips parted, “Sweetheart, you just might regret that one,” he teased gently, guiding her to the bed behind her. **  
  
**She felt the blush instantly, her skin heating from head to toe, and ducked her head, even as she scooted back on the bed. “Try me,” she whispered, eyes darting up to him, sucking in a breath as she processed what she had just said, not that she regretted the challenge. The light that entered his eyes however reminded her so much of Francis, it took her breath away. **  
  
**“Oh my darling Mary,” he smirked as he knelt down on the bed and crawled towards her. “My sweet, darling, Mary,” he pressed his lips against her stomach with each word as he moved up her body. “I love you,” he continued softly, intensely, as he finally settled his frame to hover above her own. **  
  
**“I love you,” she answered with a soft smile. “Now, stop worrying, I can see your brain working a mile a minute, and just be here with me,” she instructed, reaching up to brush her fingers along his cheek, feeling the heat on her skin fade away as she got over the nerves that came with her offer. **  
  
**“Just be here, I can do that,” he promised, before lowering her lips down to hers. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Saturday, January 20th, 2018  
****Anaheim, California  
****4:18 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**She was finally asleep. **  
  
**He, on the other hand, wasn’t sure if he would be able to sleep tonight, and kept wishing they kept mini bottles of alcohol in the mini fridge at Disney. **  
  
**A definite downfall to staying at Disneyland apparently. **  
  
**It had all been going so well. **  
  
**They hadn’t had any issues since they started exploring the physical side of their relationship, and he’d honestly started to think that they’d both been making a mountain out of a molehill, that she was going to be alright. **  
  
**Well, the universe had it’s laugh at him tonight. **  
  
**He’d gotten caught up in enjoying everything about her, relearning the sounds she made, finding that some of the things that used to drive her crazy in their first life were the same in this one. He’d been unable to help himself when he brought her to what he knew from previous talks was her first orgasm in this life, and he’d been right back where he’d been that day at Notre Dame, wanting to just watch her rise and fall as many times as he could get away with. **  
  
**Three times he watched her crest, listened to her breathy moans, watching as her entire body shook with pleasure. Then it was like something switched in her mind, and even as he started work towards a fourth attempt, she went from laying there boneless with a smile on her face, eyes half closed as she came down, to rigid as a board. He’d felt the change, eyes darting up to her face even as she was moving. By the time his brain had truly processed something was going on, she was curled into a ball, as small as she could get, seemingly barely breathing as he couldn’t hear her, while her he could still see her shoulders hitching in small movements too quick for normal. **  
  
**He learned quickly that she was breathing, in quick, shallow, hitches that made him worry if she was even getting enough oxygen. The tears had nearly destroyed him, and he hadn’t known what to do, afraid to touch her, unable to leave her alone. He ended up whispering the same soothing sounds he remembered his mom using on him and his siblings whenever they’d been sick, until her breathing evened out and he didn’t fear her passing out anymore. **  
  
**She stayed there though, curled into a ball and not looking at him, and he still had felt helpless and unsure of how to proceed, the back of his mind contemplating how to get his hands on Luciano Rinaldi while also berating himself for not sticking to his plan to keep things slow. When he finally felt her shifting, he waited, fearing to even breath, and he had a feeling that if he had he may not have heard her quietly whispered word. **  
  
**He hadn’t been able to stop himself from touching her then, hearing her apologize, and pulled her close, swallowing back the anger at himself and Luciano when she tensed again, before feeling like he could breathe again as she deflated into him, tears falling in harsh torrents until she finally cried herself to sleep in his arms. He simply held her the entire time, one hand gently moving through her hair, the other holding her to him as she tried to get as close to him as possible, if she could find a way to crawl into his skin, he almost thought she would have. **  
  
**On one hand, it had been reassuring, that she wasn’t running from him, that she needed him, on the other, it had been incredibly awkward as she had tangled her legs with his, her head tucked under his chin, hands trapped between them as she kept one curled into herself and the other in a small fist against his heart. Any other time, he’d have been perfectly okay with the position she had put them in, as even when they shared a bed before this, she’d never curled into him quite that intimately… right then, when he’d been recovering from a self-induced case of blue balls that admittedly had been cured at watching her shut down, the last thing he had wanted was her presence to risk his body thinking they were going for round two. **  
  
**When she finally did fall asleep, he’d finally breathed a sigh of relief, not worried as much about her being upset more if he did lose the mental fight with biology. Only then, without her tears to act as distraction or the need to focus solely on her, in the silence of the room, he found himself unable to stop his mind from going over everything wondering where exactly he had gone wrong. **  
  
**He was halfway through his fourth time berating himself over his stupidity, when was pulled back to the room as she shifted against him. Glancing down, he found her curling her head further into his chest, her fingers slowly tightening into a fist then releasing over his heart. Shifting his hand down her back, he gently pulled her closer, letting his lips drift over her head, unsure if she was actually awake or had moved from the deep motionless sleep of the exhausted to a more relaxed sleep, or if she was truly waking up. **  
  
**“I love you,” she spoke a moment later, voice hoarse from all the tears. **  
  
**“I love you,” he answered immediately. “I’m so sorry,” he added after a moment. **  
  
**“No…” she breathed, trying to burrow into him further, her hand shifting from being wrapped around her own waist to wrap around his. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong…” **  
  
**“I may not understand exactly how things went wrong sweetheart, but you aren’t going to convince me I didn’t do something wrong,” he countered softly. “I knew I should have taken things slowly, but I just…” he trailed off. **  
  
**“You were amazing,” she argued, and he felt her shift again, looking down to find her head tilted back to look up at him. “It was wonderful, and I enjoyed every moment…” she paused, release a long breath then lowered her gaze back to his chest. “I don’t know, I was completely in the moment with you, and then suddenly I wasn’t… It wasn’t you though, maybe it was just overload…” she offered after a moment. “Please, please Andrew, don’t beat yourself up over this,” she stressed, eyes rising to his once more, and even in the moonlight through the window, he could see how earnest she was; her entire countenance showed it. **  
  
**He released a long, slow, sigh, pulling her in closer to him, his lips pressing against her forehead and staying there as he contemplated how to respond. “Sweetheart, I can’t not beat myself up,” he admitted after gathering his thoughts. “I may not be the main source of whatever happened tonight, but I was a part of it happening here and now. I’m going to have to work through that…” **  
  
**She sighed heavily, before curling back into him, “Okay,” she spoke after a few minutes. “Okay, I can understand your view, and I can accept that… I don’t blame you, though, please understand that…” she looked back up at him. **  
  
**“I understand,” he agreed with a small smile. **  
  
**“Good,” she nodded, curling back into him, before she froze again. **  
  
**“Rosemary?” he asked quickly, panic flooding his system. **  
  
**“I’m ok, I’m here,” she spoke quickly, her words blurring into each other as she spoke. A breath followed where he debated how to ask what the hell was wrong if she was okay, before she continued, voice quiet once more, “I just realized,” she paused, and he could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. “Is this okay?” she asked, not raising her eyes to his this time. **  
  
**It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about, it didn’t click until she started to pull away, “No,” he pulled her back automatically, continuing quickly, as she froze again at his first word and he realized as soon as he said it, it wasn’t the best way to respond, too easily interpreted wrong. “You’re okay, _this_ ,” he squeezed her closer a moment before relaxing, “is okay… Us here, is fine, you don’t have to move unless _you_ want to.” **  
  
**“Okay,” she nodded slowly, “I know we need to talk, to work through this… Not tonight though,” she continued quietly. “Tonight can we just be here, just you and me.” **  
  
**“Just you and me,” he agreed with a small smile, clinging to the hope that filled his heart. “Not tonight, and not right away. We’ve got all the time we need this time around, right?” **  
  
**“Right,” she agreed after a moment. “I love you,” she whispered, snuggling more into him. **  
  
**“I love you, too,” he echoed, holding her close and trying to just focus on the good. **  
  
**Everything may have gone wrong, but at least she was letting him hold her. **  
  
**It was vast improvement over France, and he was going to cling to the good. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**February 10th, 2018 **  
  
**Dearest Rose, **  
  
**First, congratulations on the promotion, before I get lost in other stuff. **  
  
**Well, I’m officially twenty-four. I’m not sure if it means anything, but it is what is it. I avoided any sort of big to do, thankfully. The girls couldn’t even convince me to go north so they could do something - I think they’re annoyed, to be honest. **  
  
**Andrew and I had a quiet evening, dinner at home and simply enjoyed time together. A big jump from his birthday where we spent all day wandering Disneyland doing engagement photos. Speaking of, I’m glad to hear Granny Rose liked the photos so much. And yes the one from the line at the bakery is a favorite of ours too, our photographer snuck that one in. **  
  
**So, what do you think of the location for the wedding we found in Scotland? Are we completely crazy taking everyone from America to Scotland this summer? I still can’t decide myself. Rachel is busy working on my wedding dress and Claudia hired some group of seamstresses she knows to get the dresses for you, the girls, Ari and Rachel done in time. Rachel wanted to do them all, and her cousin’s flower girl dress, but Claudia talked sense into her that she would have her hands full with the wedding dress and school. **  
  
**Of course when I tried to talk them all out of making things and just buying something pre-made since time was an issue… well, you would have thought I had called the wedding off or something. **  
  
**Andrew’s family is crazy, which probably means they’ll fit in with your side of the family beautifully. **  
  
**We have just over a week until the engagement party, don’t worry I’ll send your charm with a full explanation. **  
  
**I got my latest ring from Andrew, another posey ring. You know, I suspected he might have some crazy plan to give me a ring for every finger… Now I’m seriously starting to suspect it’s true considering I’ve got only three fingers left without a ring. He’s crazy I tell you, completely, utterly, crazy. **  
  
**Work is calling, and a hungry cat. Write soon. **  
  
**Love,  
Mary **  
  
**P.S. Tell Richard happy birthday for me - I still find it funny that you managed to find a guy who shares my birthday, well a year apart but still. Hope you guys had a great day celebrating his twenty-fifth. **  
  
**P.P.S. Disneyland Paris in a year? **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Thursday, February 15th, 2018  
****Anaheim, California  
****9:54 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**She didn’t know how the hell Claudia had pulled it off. **  
  
**Then again, Rosemary wasn’t going to even dream of asking…She wrote it off as Andrew’s parents had insane, amazing, connections when she received the email the day after they had their engagement photos done showing what Claudia wanted to do as the invitations to their engagement party in a month. When she saw the date as being President’s Day weekend, she had approved wholeheartedly knowing it meant she wouldn’t have to worry about a late party and work at school the next day. **  
  
**When she had seen the location, she fell out of her chair. **  
  
**Somehow, someway, Claudia had managed to rent out the Blue Bayou restaurant for an after park hours party. Her soon to be family was completely embracing her love of all things Disney in a way she had never dreamed possible. **  
  
**As such, her inner Disney fan girl was going absolutely crazy. **  
  
**Which was how, one day shy of a month after the first full day of a predominately magical four-day weekend spent showing Andrew Disneyland ‘through her eyes as he put it’, she found herself back at the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ to celebrate her engagement with a ton of people she didn’t know, and a few she did. She opted to ignore the awkwardness of all the people she didn’t know, and simply enjoy the time with friends and being back in the park, after hours, at her own private party in her version of paradise. **  
  
**Glancing around the room, she took another moment to appreciate what Claudia and the Disney planners had put together, the nods to New Orleans in the little wrought-iron lamp post signs that showed names of famous streets from the city that inspired the party used to identify each table for seating arrangements. Instead of flowers, there were large arrangements of feathers, spilling out in black and white, as chandeliers draped with strings of Mardi Gras beads decorated alternating tables with the feather arrangements, all atop dark purple tablecloths. **  
  
**She and Andrew had even found a mask marking their spots, his black and hers white. **  
  
**Dinner had been one of three of the Blue Bayou’s dishes: the Lamb, Salmon, or Portobello mushroom and rice, covering the majority of eating choices. Alcoholic drinks were limited to wines, and soft drinks were plentiful. Desert was one of two options, a croque-en-bouche, that Arianna had explained was cream puffs, piled into the cone shape they sat in, and covered in a fine layer of caramel, decorated with white butterflies here and there - she had quickly learned that Arianna was a _huge_ fan of the desert. The other dessert was a definite Disney design, a tiered cake with a vine all around, small flowers dotting the vine, leading up to the top where Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip danced - in the blue dress. **  
  
**She was ecstatic it was the blue dress. **  
  
**The truly intricate part was the white dragon that was also wrapped around the cake, looking up towards the top from the very bottom layer. She was _not_ looking forward to having to figure out how to cut that cake with an intricate sugar dragon in the way. **  
  
**Of course, before they cut the cake, they would have to deal with the ribbons that came off the cake, hiding their charms underneath the cake. Claudia had explained there was one for each of the members of the wedding party, a ring, heart, horseshoe, fleur de lis, anchor, and dime - each had their own meaning. She was supposed to pull with the rest for Rose and send it to her with the next letter she wrote her cousin. **  
  
**Her mother was somewhere in the room, and she was admittedly half avoiding her mother in an attempt to enjoy the night. Maryanne Douglas wouldn’t outright say anything against the evening, but she knew she’d be able to spot in her mother’s expression if something bugged her, and the last thing she wanted was to have her evening spoiled by her mom. **  
  
**The rest of her gang was busy helping play referee so her mom had people to talk to while she dealt with the many congratulations and well wishes she and Andrew had to receive from all the guests. She had full plans to spoil them later as thanks for dealing with her mother so she, and especially Andrew, didn’t have to. **  
  
**Feeling familiar arms around her waist, she tilted her head back from the conversation she had been vaguely listening to James have with a handful of people to look up at familiar blonde curls. **  
  
**She had managed to plant herself near the overlook on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and had been enjoying a few minutes of relative quiet, even if it meant appearing like she was following a discussion about some work-related thing that she hadn’t a clue about what was being said. **  
  
**“Hello, Mary love.” **  
  
**“Hello, my love,” she smiled up at him before he leaned down to lightly press his lips to hers. **  
  
**“Ready for dessert?” **  
  
**Turning her head, she looked across the room where the dragon cake sat, “I still find it funny your younger sister decided we needed a Sleeping Beauty cake…” **  
  
**Andrew smirked, leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder as he swayed them slightly while he hummed a few notes of ‘Once Upon A Dream’. **  
  
**“Yes, and that, _right there_ , is why I find it funny,” she chuckled, turning in his arms to look up at him. **  
  
**“Maybe that’s _our_ movie,” he offered with a shrug. **  
  
**“Maybe,” she agreed with an easy smile. **  
  
**“So… cake?” **  
  
**“Ribbons,” she countered, “then someone else gets to figure out how to cut the cake.” **  
  
**“Personally, Donnie and I want the dragon.” Andrew moved back a step, taking her hand into the crook of his arm to lead her across the room. She caught sight of Claudia gathering up her daughters and Rosemary’s friends, realizing he had pre-plotted this plan. **  
  
**“I’m with your sister and the cream puffs covered in spun caramel,” she countered with a smile. **  
  
**“Sounds like we’ve got a plan then,” Andrew chuckled as they approached the table and were joined by the collection of females. **  
  
**The group gathered around the table, each grabbing a ribbon and pulled slowly, revealing a ribbon and charm covered lightly in frosting, before stepping back to figure out what they got while the staff stepped forward to work out how to cut the cake while another person was pulling cream puffs off the stack and putting them on plates, as people started filing by to get their desert. **  
  
**A plate of cream puffs and cake was set aside as the girls gathered to look over their charms. **  
  
**Rosemary left the group, amused by who got what as the girls traveled off to find their own chosen dessert. **  
  
**Stephanie had the ring, which tradition stated was the ‘next to marry’ and she hadn’t missed the red creeping in her old friend’s face when the meaning was revealed. Rachel got the heart, ‘true love’, while Arianna got the anchor for ‘hope’. Kyla got the fleur des lis, that ‘love would bloom’, while Sasha got the dime for ‘wealth’, and she had the horseshoe for ‘good luck’ that she would be sending on to Rose. **  
  
**Wrapping the charm in a napkin, she stashed it with her mask, then went to find Andrew who held a plate of cream puffs and a plate of cake. Reaching up, she snatched a cream puff as she came to his side, taking the plate in hand a moment later. **  
  
**“Your sister’s right, these are amazing,” she murmured. “I am so learning how to make these…” **  
  
**“Try the cake,” he smiled, offering a bite from the fork he held out. **  
  
**“Cake’s good too,” she grinned up at him, “It’s chocolate though, so that’s to be expected.” **  
  
**“Figured you’d say that,” he chuckled. “Which reminds me, my mother has a crazy idea for spring break…” **  
  
**“What’s that?” she asked, taking a bite of another cream puff. **  
  
**“We take a trip to Scotland, to go meet with some bakeries to figure out wedding cakes and florists.” **  
  
**She blinked once, a second time, then looked up at him. “Can we afford that when we are just moving into the apartment at the beginning of the month, and Spring Break is the second half of March, the first week of April… Can you even get off work for weekdays when they would probably want to meet?” **  
  
**“I figure it’s worth looking into,” he shrugged. “She had a point, it would be hard to pick a cake from the other side of the Atlantic. Flowers we can probably arrange long distance, but cake tasting doesn’t work virtually…” **  
  
**“True,” she agreed with a nod, knowing it was an argument she couldn’t very well win. **  
  
**“We’ll figure something out later,” Andrew smiled, kissing the top of her head, “for now, let’s enjoy what remains of the party, right?” **  
  
**“Definitely a plan,” Rosemary smiled up at him.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my darlings,
> 
> The week has gotten away from me, but flooding in your basement can do that, so I didn't get all the usual editing I like to do so it isn't quite so spaced apart done. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting, so I'm posting it as is and will sneak in later this week to fix the spacing.
> 
> Hope everyone else has had a great week!
> 
> p.s. I did manage to get it updated so the spacing is fixed as of 2/17.

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
** **Chapter 7  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
**Friday, March 2nd, 2018  
** **Irvine, California  
** **8:16 p.m.  
**   
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
“Pizza’s here,” Sasha announced as she shut the door, an armload of pizza boxes obscuring her face. **  
**  
“Let me help with that,” Jimmy spoke, stepping to take most of the boxes. **  
**  
“Andrew,” Rosemary called up the stairs, waiting for his head to appear over the railing, “food is here if you guys want to come down.” **  
**  
“Be right there,” Andrew smiled before disappearing to let those upstairs with him know. **  
**  
Shaking her head, Rosemary made her way to the kitchen where the boxes had been set, helping sort boxes while Sasha dug in the fridge pulling sodas out. **  
**  
She was incredibly thankful for their collection of friends who had found the time around busy schedules to come and help them on moving day, even if they weren’t moving that much per se. Sasha had come down late the night before with the van, parking in the garage and setting up camp there; with her had been Andrew’s friend Jimmy, who was still living in the Bay Area, having settled in Hayward. Three more of Andrew’s friends had come from various parts of the state, while Tom and Stephanie had made the trip down from Stockton where she was teaching music and he was working as a counselor at a church. **  
**  
Kyla was the only one from her group unable to make it, classes keeping her occupied but everyone understood and she sent her blackberry cobbler that Rosemary loved with Sasha to celebrate being finished. **  
**  
Sasha’s presence at the house the night before meant they had both felt safe leaving to their own work, knowing that she would help their friends get to the townhouse, and when she returned after a long day at the school she found everyone present except for Andrew who was stuck in the usual traffic between L.A. and Irvine. By the time she had gotten home, the six at the house had managed to unload everything that had been loaded up in a U-Haul first in Rolling Hills, then at her old apartment in town, stacking boxes along the windows to the patio, while the bits of furniture were along the long wall in the living room. **  
**  
The hours until Andrew got home passed quickly, as she sorted the boxes and sent them to their various final resting places, while Sasha and Stephanie starting on unpacking the kitchen. The guys were amazing, lugging boxes around, and later furniture as she sent her bed frame up to the second bedroom along with the dresser she had picked up when she first moved to Irvine at a thrift shop. Her futon was staying downstairs to be a couch, Andrew didn’t have much furniture as he had opted to leave his smaller bed in Rolling Hills for sleepover use by his siblings, his mom planning to redecorate for guests in the room since he had taken all his personal things from the room to move them to Irvine. **  
**  
Their own bedroom furniture was still being shipped from England. **  
**  
That had been the surprise of a lifetime, as they worked on their Kohl’s wedding registry, debating furniture and other things. She received an email from her Grand Uncle, explaining the combined gift coming from the family back in England. **  
**  
Her Granny Rose was sending a buffet that had been in the family since the turn of the last century and lived at the house in Derbyshire, along with a roll-top desk that apparently had been forgotten in a bedroom on her Uncle Colin’s side of the large Hall for more than a few years. At least that was what her family was trying to claim when she tried to argue. Her Uncle Arthur and Aunt Joan were sending a bedroom set that had, for some ungodly reason, been living in the attic in Staffordshire for decades, so they didn’t need to worry about furniture for their bedroom, as a set as old as the buffet was on its way across the Atlantic with a new mattress courtesy of her cousin and Rose’s new husband. **  
**  
Any attempts to argue any of it had been completely ignored and Andrew had just quietly suggested she accept her family’s wedding gifts and move on. In the meantime, they were going to crash in the second bedroom until their stuff arrived. Though, her mother believed they had separate rooms - whatever made her happy. **  
**  
With the help of their assorted friends, getting boxes and furniture to its assigned room, and getting the futon built, had been accomplished rather quickly. They even had the tv set up and Stephanie was hunting through her milk crates of DVDs when the pizza had arrived - pizza and movies seemed like the bygone ending to a long day. **  
**  
Not that she was arguing. **  
**  
She was thankful beyond belief that what would have taken her and Andrew all weekend was done pretty much in a single day, and the cost of a ton of pizza seemed well worth it. **  
**  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
**Saturday, March 31st, 2018  
** **Glasgow, Scotland  
** **10:04 p.m.  
**   
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
“You know, I never thought I’d be able to say I was burnt on cake,” Rosemary sighed as she laid on the bed, half aware of him moving around, mostly aware of just how much sugar she had put in her system that day as they went from one cake shop to another in an attempt to find the creator of their wedding cake in just a handful of months. **  
**  
Several locations down, and they had settled on one, with an interesting collection of cake flavors to comprise their wedding cake. The bottom, largest tier was going to be vanilla cake, three layers with this amazing blackberry jam between the bottom layers and lemon curd between the top, covered in white chocolate buttercream. The middle tier was chocolate cake with raspberry jam and cherry jam, again covered in white chocolate buttercream. And the top tier was two layers of this lovely banana cake with a layer of toffee cake between, separated by rose petal jelly. **  
**  
The idea of rose petals in jelly had never crossed their minds before, and both had been pleasantly surprised to find out that they enjoyed it. **  
**  
Unlike the other two layers, this one was covered in cream cheese frosting, but overall the cake would be white. They had decided on a simple cake, white with the only decoration being her favorite lavender roses created from sugar, with bits of baby’s breath. **  
**  
Luckily they had found a florist in Glasgow as well who fit their needs, and everything was arranged there. With those two off their lists, and decisions already made regarding decorations and such barring any arguments from the Estate to their plans, it seemed they had everything done except the waiting. **  
**  
Thankfully. **  
**  
**:-:-:  
**   
Andrew chuckled as he moved onto the bed next to her, “I still liked the red velvet.” **  
**  
“We both know you like the red velvet,” she smiled as she looked over at him, “I couldn’t get used to the idea of using a fruit jam with the red velvet, so sue me.” **  
**  
“I have better ideas for payment,” he smirked as he turned over, pinning her body to the bed with his longer frame. **  
**  
“Really?” her smile brightened as she looked up at him, hands raising to brush against his arms lightly. **  
**  
“Really,” Andrew echoed. **  
**  
A part of him couldn’t believe the changes three months had brought to their lives. **  
**  
Four months ago he was terrified of pushing her too far, before she admitted that she had been trying to find a way to explain that she didn’t know how to start things, how to admit that she was okay with stuff due to a mixture of insecurity, bashfulness, and worry that his fear of upsetting her was a factor. Their relationship hadn’t crossed that final line, they’d talked about things and decided to maybe try to do something like they should having their first life, at least planning to save their wedding night for the first time they came together completely. **  
**  
In the meantime though, they had shared a bed every night they were under the same roof since she first pointed out there was no need to keep separate beds before she flew to London for Christmas, even though officially they were using the separate rooms to her mother’s knowledge. And in those same weeks and months, they had found time to slowly learn each other, to become comfortable with each other. **  
**  
And true, they had had their difficulties in January, that first night at Disneyland. He tried very hard to block the memory of her breakdown that night. Most of the time he succeeded, focusing only on the good memories, on his preferred activities, learning her tells, learning the sounds she made, the things that made her sigh, the things that made her moan. He found it amusing in a small way, seeing the things that were the same as in their first life. She was still ticklish along the skin stretching from her knees to hip, only it wasn’t giggles alone that would follow the movement of his fingers. **  
**  
And God knew, she still couldn’t stay still. True in his experience all women moved, but his Rosemary, his Mary, would come alive when he touched her. The slightest brush of his fingers or hand against certain spots and she become a trembling puddle of goo as she put it one night. **  
**  
She had been annoyed with herself. He personally found it utterly irresistible, and loved nothing more than watching her become that puddle of goo, knowing he had brought her to that state, and the exquisite pleasure that went hand in hand with becoming boneless. **  
**  
After Disneyland, she’d thrown herself into therapy, working through things to figure out what had caused the flashback that had taken her from the hotel room with him to some point in her past she still wasn’t able to fully express aloud to him, though she had tried, in conversations made longer than either of them were sometimes comfortable when she haltingly managed to explain what she could remember. They’d talked though, determined to not repeat France, about her fears and his, about the theories she had as she worked through the mental process of understanding. **  
**  
In the end, the current theory was that she had just been too caught up in things, the switch between overwhelming desire to overwhelming fear at the simplest brush of his fingers in the wrong location apparently easier to find than anyone had been able to predict. She was working on recognizing her own mental warning signs, while he, in turn, had learned to watch for tells in her body, having to accept that what he had discovered to be a still-beloved pastime from their first life - watching her rise and fall, had to have it’s limits before she needed a break. **  
**  
It hadn’t been easy, but having her here now, looking up at him with that beautiful smile and no fear in her eyes made it worth it. **  
**  
“Andrew,” Rosemary’s voice drifted to his ears, pulling him out of his thoughts and back to her completely. “Are you going to just stare at me all day?” **  
**  
“You mean night?” he countered with a smile. **  
**  
“Well,” she tilted her head to the side in what passed for a one-shouldered shrug when lying down, at least for her. “Something like that.” **  
**  
He smiled slowly, simply enjoying the fact he had this amazing, wonderful creature in his life. “Would you stop me?” **  
**  
“No,” she shook her head, “Although we do have to get up early to get to Ardverikie…” **  
**  
“True,” he agreed, glancing over at the clock, “Which means I have thirty minutes before we should be getting to sleep since eleven would give us eight hours til seven.” **  
**  
“Really?” her look turned bemused, “You’re going to spend thirty minutes just staring at me?” **  
**  
“Or something else,” he smirked, lowering his head to capture her lips with his own. **  
**  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
**Tuesday, May 1st, 2018  
** **Irvine, California  
** **4:18 p.m.  
**   
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
Rosemary breathed a sigh of relief as she let herself into the house and turned off the alarm. **  
**  
Another long day at school was over, and she had nothing to do except work on dinner and open more of the ever arriving wedding gifts. **  
**  
“Hey Smokey,” she smiled at her cat as she walked into the living room where he was currently curled up on the futon, on the pillow he had claimed as his when they slowly made him adjust to not sleeping on their pillows. She wasn’t surprised really, when the cat remained asleep while she headed upstairs to get changed and take a quick rinse off in the shower. **  
**  
Fifteen minutes later, she was back downstairs, puttering around the kitchen in comfy clothes as she worked on dinner, slicing the onions and apples for the pork chops as Boyzone drifted from her iPod on the counter. She hummed along to the music her cousin had introduced her to when they were children while preparing the cherry sage pork chops to go in the oven to be braised, and prepped the sweet potatoes with blue cheese and set a timer to put them in. She finished slicing the mushrooms for the spinach and mushrooms side, and left them on the counter to wait until she knew Andrew was in town before washing her hands a final time and drifting out to the living room to start hunting through the packages and mail that Andrew had brought home the evening before. **  
**  
It had become their pattern over the weeks. **  
**  
They had packages delivered to the local post office instead of having them sit outside their front door until someone returned home, Andrew would pick them up and the next day she would go through them, making thank yous before finding a home for their new household items. She and Andrew would spend a few minutes before bed, wandering the house as she explained what arrived and where it had found a home, discussing location choices if he disagreed, though so far he rarely did. The only difference was the weekend, when he didn’t have work, they would open the Friday and Saturday arrivals together, she writing thank yous while he opened boxes. **  
**  
She preferred the weekend, but it was still fun to open gifts and see what things from their registry had arrived. **  
**  
She started on the nearest box, finding a set of silver candlesticks from one of the many, many people James and Claudia knew. She filled out a thank you, had it sealed and addressed and tossed in the basket for mailing before she rose to walk over to the buffet her Granny Rose had sent. **  
**  
She set the candlesticks on top, one on each side, then stepped back to stare at the collection of items on top. Along with the candlesticks, there was a silver frame that held a collage of their engagement photos, some of their favorites from that day at Disneyland; and the silver dish for bread that had come from Claudia’s sister, an heirloom from Andrew’s own Great-Great-Grandmother. **  
**  
Inside the buffet was the collection of dishes that had come from Andrew’s family in New Orleans - while her distant relatives were sending family furniture, his distant relatives were sending a family china set. Apparently, someone in the family had collected a whole collection of blue and white china from Staffordshire and it remained in storage after it came back to the family matriarch who had no need for another set of china but knew someone down the road would. It had an Asian theme, and contained enough to feed twelve… promptly taking up the majority of the buffet. **  
**  
She couldn’t regret it for a moment though. **  
**  
Thankfully. they hadn’t picked china to go on the registry when his mother arrived with the boxes that had been carefully sent to her house. **  
**  
Moving back to the boxes, she started on the next few, squealing when she unpacked the bedding they had selected for their bed. Smokey gave her an indignant look as she woke him, but she couldn’t care as she eagerly made her way to the laundry room to start washing the sheets and pillowcases and shams so they could make the bed tonight. They had been waiting for the bedding to arrive for weeks, eagerly watching for if someone was going to pick it as a gift. **  
**  
When it finally was marked as bought, she had done a little dance, her old bed worked, but she was the first to admit she really wanted to start using the custom-made feather tick mattress from Rose and Richard. Well, that and she needed to try the fitted sheet on the bed if she was going to figure out how it needed to be altered to fit the odd-shaped mattress. The bedroom set had been in the family since before modern bed sizing, so it was a little bigger than a full but not as big as a queen. They’d opted for the queen size bedding that she would alter as needed for the fitted sheet, seeing as the others wouldn’t matter if they were bigger than the bed after all. **  
**  
And the deep red was going to really make the room pop, with the gold of the oak furniture. They had opted for a simple, solid bedspread - nothing too feminine and nothing abstract - it didn’t make him have to live with flowers or her have to live with blocky stripes. **  
**  
Doing a little dance as she left the laundry area, the comforter sitting in it’s packaging on top of the dryer to wait its turn, she paused to put the sweet potatoes in the oven before heading back to write the thank you note to Andrew’s aunt for the bedding. When she reached for the next box, she was surprised to see it only had her name, not both of theirs. The return address wasn’t Kohl’s like she was used to seeing lately, instead, it was an address in San Francisco with no name. **  
**  
Frowning, she grabbed the butter knife she used for cutting tape and broke the seal so she could open the box. Inside was a smaller box, and an envelope sitting on top with her name in type. The top right corner listed a name, followed but the initials for an esquire. Picking up the envelope she flipped it over, broke the flap, and pulled out the folded paper inside. **  
**  
When she read what was written, she could have fallen over in shock. She was still sitting there, staring at the paper, when Andrew unlocked the door to the garage and reset the alarm so they were protected in the house. **  
**  
“Mary, my love,” Andrew spoke as he came in, “I have a couple more packages for you. Did you get my messages earlier? Usually, you respond…” his voice trailed off, and she raised her eyes to look towards the kitchen to find he had put the new packages on the table and was staring at her with a frown. “Rosemary, are you alright?” **  
**  
She shook her head, still in shock over what she was staring at, a part of her not surprised when he was suddenly kneeling down next to her. **  
**  
“Love, what’s wrong?” he pressed, a hand at her back while he watched her, looking up at him she recognized that familiar frantic look in his eyes, a lifetime of desperately wanting to take care of her and protect her. Silently she held out the paper, watching as he read what she already knew. **  
**  
Rosaline Ronaldi had died. **  
**  
Three years ago. **  
**  
And as part of her will, she had instructed the executor of her will to locate her, though he was under orders to keep her location secret from the rest of the Ronaldi family. Enclosed in the package was a letter from Rosaline and what she had bequeathed her former ‘granddaughter’. **  
**  
Andrew read it quickly, then raised his eyes to her, “Love?” he asked softly, “What do you want to do?” **  
**  
“I don’t know,” she admitted, glancing back at the box. “I never thought I’d hear from any of the family again…” **  
**  
Andrew nodded, reaching out to run his fingers through her slightly dampened hair, “Need me to open it?” **  
**  
She looked from him, to the box, and simply nodded, watching as he reached over to pull the box out from the bigger one and cut it open. Reaching inside, he pulled out a single piece of paper, eyes darting across the page before he began to read aloud. **  
**  
“My dearest Rosa Maria, I can only imagine the surprise you will feel upon seeing this letter, and the letter Mr. Marten will include to explain what is being sent to you. Forgive an old woman for causing you any heartache, as I know there is a chance this will be incredibly painful for you. Were I in your place, I know it would be for me. It feels as if a lifetime has passed since those many days spent in my kitchen, in a way I suppose it has, as the last of my lifetime has passed. **  
**  
“I am more sorry than I can ever say, for what the blood of my blood did to you. Not just Lorenzo, but the others as well. You were familia, Lorenzo brought you into our world and my children, my nieces and nephews, they should never have turned on you and your mama like they did. Lorenzo was the one who did something wrong, never you, my sweet girl. Forgive an old lady who didn’t know how to cope with her own guilt, that a child of her womb could do what Lorenzo did to another child. **  
**  
“I know we have not seen each other in many, many years, and we shall never meet again in this life. Perhaps I shall see you in the world beyond this, and have a chance to tell you in person of my fault, to seek your forgiveness there. Now though, I do the one thing I always promised myself I would, since a sweet little angel first learned to walk and got lost in my house. **  
**  
“Do not fear the family finding you, I have provided extra compensation to Mr. Marten to ensure you receive what I have left you, and my children and other relatives will be uninformed. Well, I should say, do not fear them finding you through what I have left you. In this new modern age, it seems far too easy to locate people if one is not careful with their lives. I pray that you have peace, and happiness, and that you have many, many days of use from these which I have left to you. All my love, Nonna.” **  
**  
By the time he was done reading, she couldn’t help the tears that were silently falling down her cheeks, as even if Andrew had read the words in his normal voice, she had still been able to hear the familiar cadence and accent on some of the lines that were solely her former Italian grandmother who had retained quirks of the accent through the generations since the family left Italy. Reaching out with trembling fingers, she pulled the box to her and pulled out the familiar worn book on top. **  
**  
“What’s that?” Andrew asked softly as she traced her fingers over the cover of the journal. **  
**  
“Rosaline’s great-grandmother’s cookbook,” Rosemary answered softly, opening the cover to reveal the small neat cursive that read ‘Lucia Gandolfi 1887’. “The family recipes that came from Italy are in here,” she explained, closing the cover to set it aside so she could pull the next book out, “This one belonged to Lucia’s daughter’s Celia, with recipes she collected and used for the family over the years… variants she made on the family recipes that people liked, or ones she learned from others. They were in America by the time Celia was an adult, hers began in 1912, so that’s when they started having Italian meals from other regions of Italy show up in the family recipes… All the different parts of Italy represented in the areas that would be known as ‘Little Italy’.” Her hands reached in again, pulling out a third book, “Ginevra, Rosaline’s mother begun hers in the late thirties, she was the first to move out of the Italian sections of town, so she brought non-Italian dishes to the family. Her sister-in-law was Polish and Jewish, so there are a lot of recipes from those cultures here.” **  
**  
He reached in to pick up the last book, the most modern of all, and she looked over at it with a smile, “Rosaline’s, begun in the mid-fifties. She had all kinds of things in there, recipes she saw in magazines, recipes from neighbors, things she liked whether her kids liked them or not. I loved her recipe for molasses cookies, one she got from her own mother-in-law that dated back to the turn of the century. Your brother will love it, it requires a ton of bacon before you can make them…” **  
**  
“Really?” Andrew asked with a smile. **  
**  
“Yup,” Rosemary nodded, “Rosaline made her mother’s lamb once, it was my first time having lamb and it was _amazing_. One of those recipes she got from her sister-in-law. There’s even a recipe for good latkes in there, I saw it once, Rosaline said she’d make them for Christmas…” she trailed off, remembering that that Christmas never came. “They must have been so angry, when they found out the family cookbooks were gone.” **  
**  
“We’ll deal with that when it’s time,” he countered softly, carefully setting the books aside and pulling her into his lap after he readjusted to sitting on his butt. **  
**  
“My mother is going to be furious,” she admitted, glancing over at the books, “That I would take something from _any_ of the Ronaldis…” **  
**  
“Your mother can deal with me,” he pointed out evenly. “For better or worse, _that’s_ what we’re promising in front of her in a few months. I can’t fight battles with swords anymore for your honor, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to watch her make you regret something that you _obviously_ cherish.” **  
**  
Rosemary smiled, snuggling into him more and every thankful that she got this man, not just for one lifetime but two. “It’s funny isn’t it?” **  
**  
“What?” **  
**  
“Your mother has French blood with her New Orleans heritage. My family has very British connections, and your Father has definite Scottish heritage. And here’s Rosaline, with the Italian heritage… In a roundabout way, we’ve got connections to all the same parts of the world we did before.” **  
**  
“Without the Medici money,” he chuckled lightly. **  
**  
“ _Or_ the political disasters to deal with,” she agreed with a smile. **  
**  
Andrew pulled the box over, reaching in one more time to pull out a satin bag, “Do you know what this is?” **  
**  
Frowning she sat up slightly to take it into her lap, “No… I don’t remember ever seeing a bag like this in Rosaline’s house.” **  
**  
“Open it,” he prompted when she simply stared at it. **  
**  
Shrugging slightly, she moved over to the ribbons tied in a bow, slowly undoing them finding it was actually a large piece of fabric as she moved it aside. Carefully unfolding the layers of fabric, she sucked in a breath when she reached the middle of the bundle, her fingers hesitating as they hovered over the pure white lace resting in a puddle there. **  
**  
“Oh _Nonna_ ,” she whispered, letting her fingers fall to rest on the delicate lace. **  
**  
“Mary?” Andrew whispered against her hair. **  
**  
“The first time I went over to Rosaline’s house after I learned to walk, they all didn’t think I’d be as explorative as I was. I managed to get upstairs and into Rosaline’s room, and it was there they finally found me, curled up asleep with one hand just resting on the mantilla that Rosaline had removed from its shadow box since the glass had cracked and she was getting it replaced. I always loved her mantilla, she wore it when she married her Luciano. The three generations before her all helped to make it for her wedding…” **  
**  
“So all four of the women whose cookbooks you just gained?” **  
**  
Looking up at him she nodded, “I asked her once, when I was twelve and we were talking about family trees, if she would help me make a mantilla for my wedding someday. I remember she got teary-eyed, and when I apologized for making her cry, that it was okay, she didn’t have to, she corrected my assumption and explained that none of her daughters had wanted a mantilla, all wanting the modern veil. None of the other granddaughters showed interest in the tradition either, so it took her by surprise that someone would want one. She said she would be honored to help make my mantilla, if I still wanted one when I found my own love.” **  
**  
Andrew smiled, leaning down to brush a kiss to the skin of her forehead, “I think Rosaline just kept her promise in the only way she could.” **  
**  
Rosemary smiled up at him, before folding the satin back over the mantilla and carefully rising. He stayed where he was, watching as she walked over to table to set it down and unwrap it again. Reaching out, she carefully picked up the delicate lace, moving it around to lay across the top of her head and fall down her back and sides. Closing her eyes a moment, she took in the familiar smell of clove, cinnamon, and orange that clung to the lace, Rosaline had used pompadour balls to freshen the air all her life, she made them every fall. Turning around, she opened her eyes to look at Andrew, still sitting on the ground and looking up at her. **  
**  
“Do you think it will go with my dress?” she asked softly. **  
**  
Andrew smiled a slow smile, standing to cross to her in a handful of long strides, “Sweetheart, I think it will be beautiful with your dress,” he answered honestly, his hands rising to frame her jaw, capturing the lace between his skin and hers. “If you want to wear it, then you wear it, alright?” **  
**  
She smiled, nodded once, before stepping up to press her lips to his. “You might need to fight one of those wars with me against my mother…” **  
**  
“Maryanne can try. It’s _our_ wedding.” **  
**  
“I love you,” she spoke without conscious thought, watching his smile grow again. **  
**  
“I love you, too.” **  
**  
Nodding, she reached up to remove the mantilla from her head, carefully folding it to return it to its protective fabric. She moved it over to the buffet, before turning to look at him. “I should get dinner finished, and you should get changed. I think the rest of the gifts can wait until tomorrow…” **  
**  
“Sounds like a plan,” Andrew nodded, “I’ll be back in five…” he added, watching her carefully. **  
**  
“I won’t fall apart,” she promised with a small smile. He shrugged, then turned to head upstairs. **  
**  
Walking back over to where the books sat, she picked them up and carried them to lay them on the buffet by the mantilla in its satin packaging, resting her hand on top of Rosaline’s a moment. She couldn’t wait to go through them again, to find out what recipes she had forgotten and start plotting how to use them. **  
**  
Stepping away she turned her attention back to dinner, knowing she had mushrooms and spinach to saute, and pork chops that were probably fall apart tender by now and needed to rest along with the sweet potatoes. **  
**  
She’d treat herself with the cookbooks later.


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to the chapel, and we're gonna get married...

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
****Chapter 8  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018  
****Oakland, California  
****11:04 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**“I still can't believe we are going to Scotland,” Stephanie sighed happily as they took up several seats for the five of them, their luggage in a line where bicycles were often stashed.  
  
“You're welcome,” Rosemary laughed. She couldn't believe it all herself in some ways, and yet here they were.  
  
“Remind me to thank Andrew, a lot,” Tom smiled from where he sat with Stephanie curled into him.  
  
“I think all of us have to thank Andrew for this,” Sasha pointed out.  
  
“Hear, hear,” Kyla grinned.  
  
Rosemary smiled at her friends, happily enjoying the mid-morning trip on Bart to San Francisco International airport.  
  
They had all met up at Sasha's and taken the bus to El Cerrito, then had breakfast at IHOP. Now they were on their way to deal with luggage check-in and security to make their first flight to Calgary. After a five hour-ish layover they would be off for Halifax, where they would spend almost a whole day waiting for the flight that would take them to Glasgow.  
  
Altogether, just over forty-four hours flying spent just the five of them as her mother couldn't leave until the next day and Andrew was traveling with his friends on a different flight six hours after theirs.  
  
They had mutually decided that they would travel to Scotland with their friends, enjoying time with their own circle before the busyness of the week struck.  
  
And, since they hadn't used all of Andrew's 'wedding fund' for the wedding after her family insisted on doing so much, he had suggested providing help to their friends who might not be able to cover the entire cost of the plane tickets. Thus she and her friends were flying together on a cheaper, albeit longer, flight that would deposit them in Scotland Thursday morning, where her Uncle Colin had arranged to meet them with appropriate transportation to get them to Ardverikie.  
  
Claudia had left on Friday and was already there with her Aunt Joan ensuring that things were going to plan.  
  
A part of her couldn’t believe that she was getting married on Saturday.  
  
It seemed like the end of a long road, and yet it was here so quickly when she looked back over the last months. Of course, considering the last year of her life had been busy as hell working on her final year to get her teaching certificate, which she had received last month followed by a hell of a party thrown by James and Claudia in Rolling Hills for all of their friends… It was definitely a year she wouldn’t forget.  
  
They arrived at the airport amidst laughter and merriment, gathering their luggage and making their way off the train and towards the elevator to go upstairs to the exit for the Bart area and to catch the train that would take them to the appropriate international terminal.  
  
Once there, they dealt with baggage, and made their way through the joys of security, stopping off at the various restaurants to pick-up their choice of food for lunch on their way to the gate. They piled around a coffee table like thing at their gate and pulled out cards to play a few rounds of Hand and Foot while they waited, taking turns telling stories about the last months of their lives.  
  
**:-:-:  
  
**Wifi and in-seat USB charging spots made the flight to Calgary an easy one to pass as they divided up on the plane.  
  
Three hours later, they had arrived in Calgary just before six local time, and promptly raided the A&W they discovered, before finding a place to hang out for the remainder of their five-hour layover.  
  
More Hand and Foot followed, and after a quick stop at Chik-Fil-A for a snack on the plane, they were boarding for their late night flight to Halifax.  
  
Even though they had wifi and charging options again on the second flight, most of them just took what sleep they could.  
  
Their flight landed at six-fifty in Halifax, and they promptly went to check in to their reservations at the on-site hotel, having brought a change of clothes in their carry-ons knowing they’d want to change once during their long flight.  
  
Sixteen hours after they landed in Halifax, they had eaten three times, grabbed snacks for the next morning, and boarded their overnight flight to Glasgow. They slept for this flight, waking as the sun came into windows they had purposely left open so they had time to wake up and be functioning before they landed.  
  
As quickly as they had been able, they were off the plane and making their way to get their bags and deal with customs. Thankfully, they were able to process through customs with little delay, and they were on their way to Starbucks as soon as physically possible, each eager to get something to drink and find her Uncle Colin.  
  
Colin Douglas was leaning against a wall, reading a newspaper while drinking his own coffee when she spotted him. By the time the others joined them, she had hugged her Uncle and was getting a recap of the ‘women folks’ activities the past few days. She smiled gratefully at Sasha as she took the chai latte the other woman held out, before the group was following Colin out to where he had parked a van.  
  
Tom wasted no time, getting luggage loaded while the girls were shooed towards the van to get settled. Once Colin was sure everyone was settled, they were on the road for the two and a half hour ride to Ardverikie, listening as he entertained them with stories from wedding plans through the generations of their family.  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Friday, July 6th, 2018  
****Ardverikie, Scotland  
****3:26 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Maryanne Douglas had arrived early that morning, the last of the guests to arrive as Andrew and his friends had arrived Thursday afternoon. Most of their family members had arrived at Ardverikie Estate earlier in the week, a combination of the entirety of the Douglas clan and Andrew’s family.  
  
Along with his parents and siblings had come his only living Grandmother, Claudia’s mother, his father’s brothers, and their families, and his cousin that his Grandmother was raising since Claudia’s sister had died when her daughter was only two.  
  
Ardverikie Castle was an Estate, that while still the residence of the family that owned it, had also been converted into a holiday escape. The main house was still the residence for the family when they chose to visit, though they rarely rented out the Reception Hall, Drawing Room, and Library to host weddings. She and Andrew had opted to have the actual ceremony on the grounds, with permission of course, and only the reception in the castle proper.  
  
Spread out on the estate land were other buildings, converted into ‘cottages’ to be rented out. They had rented all of them, taking over the entire estate for a week. Their collection of people was spread out between five of the six buildings on site: Pinewood, Gallovie Cottage, Rowan Bray, Iverpattack, and Gallovie Farmhouse. Andrew, his friends, and male cousins were staying at the Farmhouse with Max and Richard, while she and her friends, cousin and Andrew’s female cousins were staying at Iverpattack, the Victorian lodge. His parents and younger siblings were at Gallovie Cottage, while her Mother, Aunt, Uncles, and Granny Rose were at Rowan Brae. while Pinewood housed Andrew’s Grandmother, Uncles, and Aunt.  
  
While the boys were out on a hike the day before the wedding, she was at Gallovie Farmhouse having a tea party with the women there to celebrate their marriage.  
  
It had been Rose’s idea, knowing how much she loved a nice tea and knowing it was a nice way to gather the ladies together for a very British moment, to simply be. She hadn’t wanted a hen party, so this was the next best thing.  
  
Rose and Joan had gone all out with Claudia and Granny Rose’s help.  
  
They had gathered all sorts of different teapots, teacups, and saucers, covering the table with them in a way that was reminiscent of the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Small collections of different rose bouquets lived in teacups here and there, but otherwise, the table was bare of decoration.  
  
It was a lovely tea party, with finger sandwiches, scones and clotted cream with different jams, and a truly appropriate cake from the same baker the wedding cake had been ordered.  
  
It was a naked cake, giving a sort of basket look with three tiers stacked on each other, but each tier was comprised of four thin layers of white cake with dollops of custard between, the space between the dollops helped with the impression of a lattice basket. Perched atop the cake was a teapot tilted slightly and pouring a ‘stream’ of flowers down to a teacup that leaned against the bottom tier.  
  
She couldn’t wait to break into the cake, to be honest.  
  
In the meantime, they had shared stories: stories of family weddings that were amusing or sweet, tales of things that Andrew had done or she had done with her family and friends.  
  
It was everything she had wanted the day before her wedding. A calm, quiet afternoon.  
  
Spotting Rose at the other end of the room, quietly taking pictures, she raised her teacup slightly in salute, smiling when she saw her cousin lower the camera and wink her way.  
  
Even her mother seemed to be enjoying herself.  
  
It was Rosemary’s lucky day.  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Saturday, July 7th, 2018  
****Ardverikie, Scotland  
****4:00 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Saturday dawned bright and lovely.  
  
Everything he had hoped it would for their wedding.  
  
He sent a letter to her, a simple message reminding her of his love and that he would see her at four.  
  
Jimmy brought back a letter for him, pretty much exactly the same, and Jimmy had been chuckling because Sasha had been on her way out to bring his when he had arrived to deliver hers.  
  
He hadn’t been surprised, even if his friends thought it amusing.  
  
It was them, they had done the same thing the night before their first wedding. He had dropped hers off on his way to see Bash, and found his when he returned to his room after talking to his brother.  
  
The morning was spent getting ready, the photographer they had hired had sent two people out, one who would record the ceremony while the other took photos, but before the ceremony one was with each of them, getting photos of them getting ready.  
  
His followed them to the place by the lake where they had set up a simple location for the ceremony. Wooden folding chairs made up two sides of an aisle, the only decoration being simple white lanterns at the end of each row of chairs with a candle inside and her favorite lavender roses attached to the handle.  
  
He hung out with his friends, watching as the photographer took pictures of the area and of their family arriving to find their seats. He watched as the minister they had hired arrived, taking his spot at the end of the aisle.  
  
It had been interesting, having to pick only five of his friends to stand with him, seeing as Rosemary only had five females to pick from including his sister. Thankfully, his buddies had solved the issues for him and held a joking lottery system, so he watched as the five who got out of wearing penguin suits - as they joked - went to find their seats while the other five lined up by age.  
  
Their choice, not his.  
  
He smiled at his brother, who joined the end of the line, everyone taking their place as the iPod played the music Rosemary had picked for her bridal party to walk down the aisle to.  
  
He watched, amused, as the girls appeared, Rose first, then Sasha, Stephanie, Kyla, and his sisters, all dressed in the dark purple dresses they had picked with Rosemary, carrying a simple collection of calla lilies. After Arianna, he saw his cousins, Emily and Matt appear, walking down the aisle as Emily tossed lavender rose petals amongst the white ones that had been laid out to mark the aisle. He smiled at them, watching as Emily went to stand with Ari while Matt went to stand with Donnie.  
  
Then the song changed, and there she was, standing with her Uncle Arthur.  
  
He couldn’t help but steal a quick glance at his soon to be mother-in-law, smile growing when she almost lost her smile as Rosemary came into view with the lace mantilla that Rosaline Ronaldi had sent for her. He knew he was going to enjoy himself at some point, the chance to quietly but firmly point out that Maryanne needed to let her daughter live her own life.  
  
His gaze returned to his love, appreciating the dress his sister had made, smiling at the simple joy radiating from her.  
  
It felt like so much more than three years in the making to reach this day.  
  
Then again, he supposed it could be called several hundred years in the making.  
  
All he knew was that it was here, and as she and Arthur reached them he shared a smile with the eldest male of her family before taking her hand, watching as she handed her lavender rose bouquet to her cousin, then turned to face the minister.  
  
He was pretty sure he could safely call this the happiest day of his life.  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Saturday, July 7th, 2018  
****Ardverikie, Scotland  
****6:25 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Saturday dawned bright and lovely.  
  
She had spent the morning with just her friends. They had refused entry to anyone not in the wedding party, which she knew her mother would be furious about, but the girls and Rose had insisted and she had enjoyed the quiet while she got it.  
  
They exchanged letters. She hadn’t known he would send one, even though she should have, but she couldn’t resist the throwback to their first life.  
  
Neither could he it seemed.  
  
Rose had promised to see her letter safely tucked away to go back home with them, while Kyla had fussed with her hair and Stephanie had done her make-up.  
  
They had a photographer hovering, thankfully being tasteful in how the pictures were done as they prepared for the day.  
  
She did find some of the choices amusing, like the picture the photographer took of the row of dresses for the girls hung up with her dress in the middle. Of course, her dress took infinitely more space than the others.  
  
With the input of her friends and Andrew’s sisters, she had decided on simple, elegant A-line dresses for the bridal party, in a dark shade of purple.  
  
Her dress had been Rachel’s shining glory though, a Victorian-inspired gown that had a corseted top, with what could be interpreted as the leaves of a rose leaving the corset to go over her hips, the full skirt representing the rose petals with small silk roses holding up the outer skirt in even spaces to give the petal appearance. Lace fell down her arms in pretty folds, and for the first time in this life, she felt like royalty.  
  
Sasha had understood after only a moment’s thought. Rachel thought she understood, writing it off as every girl’s dream of being a princess. Andrew would surely understand.  
  
Her hair was done up in a rolled twist, a single lavender rose tucked into one side.  
  
They had exactly two flowers at their wedding, lavender roses and white calla lilies. She had a bouquet of roses while the girls carried the lilies, Andrew had a rose boutonniere while his side of the party had a tiny lily for theirs.  
  
They had wanted simple - much to her mother’s annoyance - and simple was what they got.  
  
Uncle Arthur appeared when it was time to go to where they were having the ceremony by the lake, walking with her and telling about his memories of the day his brother married her grandmother. It was what she needed, that family connection today.  
  
She watched from a distance, just slightly out of sight as her friends and soon to be sisters walked to take their place in front of the left section of chairs; Andrew, his friends, and brother already standing in front of the right. She watched as Andrew’s young cousins who had been selected for ‘flower girl’ and ‘ring bearer’ followed the others, before she and Uncle Arthur made their way over.  
  
She had refused to look anywhere but him, not wanting to see her mother’s reaction when she figured out what veil she wore.  
  
Andrew’s quick glance towards the side told her he had probably seen, and she knew if she needed to know he’d tell her later. All she knew, all she wanted to think about today, as she walked to him, was them, that they were finally here.  
  
Like their first life, the words spoken were a blur, except she didn’t have the luxury of blaming it on the language used. She found herself drifting, between this time and the past, Andrew’s firm squeeze of her fingers pulling her back to the present time and again. She wasn’t sure how he knew when she needed it, but somehow he did.  
  
How she ever thought she could survive without him was beyond her.  
  
They said their vows, exchanged the rings they had gotten from the same place he gathered her insane collection of rings that now covered every finger of her hand save one - her last ring from him had been a custom reproduction of a ring from their time period, a hidden message ring from France that she wore on her right pointer finger opposite the three identical bands that she wore on her right pointer finger, identical save for the three different flowers around their outside. Even in that she could see where he had pre-plotted it all, as the ones for her left hand had roses and daisies like the ring on her right, the irises a nod to where the one on her right had come.  
  
She had left all but her engagement ring back in the jewelry box she kept the twelve rings in that he had given her for her nine fingers.  
  
The ring she gained today was identical to the one she gave him, save for a slight change in wording. They had silver rings, Scottish Gaelic around the outside that read ‘ _I have wished for thee with all my heart_ ’ and the inside was inscribed ‘ _Andrew beloved of Rosemary_ ’ on his, ‘ _Rosemary beloved of Andrew_ ’ on hers, still in the native tongue that had once been her own.  
  
She thought it only fair she got to join in this posey ring quest of his after all.  
  
Before she knew it, they were told to kiss, and being announced as Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Johnson. Everyone was clapping and the photographer was taking pictures, and they were walking back down the aisle together.  
  
She hoped she would remember more later, because in the moment, she could barely remember anything except how happy she was, and that he kept her grounded.  
  
Pictures followed with their bridal party and family on the grounds, before they made their way to the castle for their two hours allotted time for the reception. It had been decided, with time restraints and all, that they would simply have dinner in their individual cottages after the reception - have dessert first, to allow time for cake and dancing, and plenty of pictures in the castle.  
  
She had finally understood the ringtone Andrew had put on her phone for him, when he finally, _finally_ , let her actually hear the song as they danced to it. She had simply smiled up at him as she heard the lyrics talking of ‘dreams of you all through my head’, and of wedding days and growing old only to start again.  
  
He had simply smiled and shrugged slightly, dancing with her as the happy tune continued.  
  
She was standing near the foot of the staircase, fully aware of the photographer that had just snuck a picture of her staring upstairs absentmindedly, when Andrew appeared at her side. Last she had seen him, he had been in conversation with his father, so she had been a bit surprised to have him back so quickly, happy nonetheless.  
  
“I have a surprise,” he spoke, leading her to the center of the room.  
  
“What’s the surprise?” she asked with a smile.  
  
“Well, you know how we only do the swaying dancing, cause you insist that you don’t know any other way…”  
  
She looked up at him with a small frown, “Yes…” she answered slowly, not really sure where this was going.  
  
“Well, I decided to prove you wrong, a bit.”  
  
“Come again?”  
  
Andrew’s smile grew as he stopped them in the center of the room, then stepped forward to turn around to face her, reaching out he caught the back of her head, stepping forward to rest his forehead against her own, “Let’s relive a memory,” he whispered before stepping back as an upbeat song that sounded more like one from their first life began to play.  
  
Raising her eyes to him, she watched him bow, that same smile she remembered from their first dance as husband and wife in their first life, playing around his lips, and suddenly she understood what he had planned. Sinking into a quick half curtsy she rose as he straightened, and held her hand out to him on instinct.  
  
She smiled, how could she not, as he took her hand and spun her around quickly while slowly starting to walk around her, spinning her twice as he moved to stand opposite where he had started before he let go of her hand, his drifting behind his back as he continued his walk back to where he had started. She, in turn, continued to spin, first once the way he had spun her, then the other way as he finished his circle.  
  
She spun a third time as he reached his starting spot, not surprised when he brushed up against her and his hand found her waist while she held her dress, getting lost in his eyes as he spun them around together. It was simple, and easy, falling back into the old style of dance, and she couldn’t help but laugh when he pulled the same trick he had the first time, spinning her back into him quickly with a pleased grin on his face before he caught her lips with his own just as he had done then.  
  
Peripherally she was aware, of their friends and family dancing around in a circle.  
  
He had obviously plotted this.  
  
As she pulled back from him, she simply smiled and shook her head as he pulled her back into the simple movements of the dance. “Pleased with yourself?” she asked softly.  
  
“Immensely,” Andrew smirked, “I just answered a question I wondered the first time I played Mad Quao with you.”  
  
Rosemary looked at him confused, before letting it go and simply enjoying the laugh that escaped him. She’d get him to explain later. For now, she had the remaining time of their wedding reception to enjoy after all, and apparently to prove to her new, _still_ , husband that she could dance like they used to.  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Sunday, July 8th, 2018  
****Ardverikie, Scotland  
****5:09 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Andrew woke instantly, the moment he felt her side of the bed was empty.  
  
Pushing himself up to his elbows he looked around the bedroom, concern growing when he saw no sign of his beloved.  
  
He noted the gown she had shyly emerged from the bathroom in last night was missing from where he had tossed it after finally peeling the silk inch by inch from her skin, a memory that brought an uncontrollable smile this lips. She had been a vision, her hair a riot of curls free from the complicated twist she wore during the wedding, a simple white gown that reminded him ever so slightly of what she had worn the morning she came to his room in Fontainebleau to yell at him about the Count, and their fate was sealed with his words and their choice.  
  
Pushing the blanket and sheet away, he rose to find his robe, starting a search for her.  
  
Last night had been a perfect reunion in some ways, and an amazing first in others. Yet, even though he strived to be gentle, and she had seemed fine as she curled into him after, halfway asleep from their 'vigorous’ activities as she had teasingly murmured; he couldn't help worrying if it was too much with her past in this life.  
  
The bathroom proved empty, so he started out of the bedroom to check other parts of the Gate Lodge, their own private castle for the first two nights of their married life.  
  
When he hadn't found her with a thorough check of the house, and she hadn't answered to his call, he could feel a healthy dose of fear taking over his system. He didn't stop for shoes as he ran to the door, fully intending to search the grounds if need be, only to stop short with mental relief - his heart was pounding too quick to calm as quickly as his mind - when he saw her standing twenty feet from the house staring towards the sunrise.  
  
He crosses the ground in long strides, noting that she had gained a matching robe from someplace that the slight breeze was busy playing with along with her hair, but her feet were as bare as his own.  
  
Slipping up behind her, his arms found the space above her hips to rest as he buried his face in her hair, her familiar scent of almonds and mint helping calm his racing heart. Her arms moved to rest along his, entwining their fingers over her womb as she relaxed her weight slightly against him.  
  
“Good morning my love,” Rosemary spoke softly. “I thought you'd be asleep for a while still…”  
  
“Went to pull you close, you were gone,” he explained, turning his head to rest his cheek against the top of her head.  
  
Her grip tightened a moment, her equivalent of a hug in their current positions, “Sorry.”  
  
“It's okay… long as you're okay…”  
  
Her left hand squeezed his, and he felt her rings press into the skin of his finger just above his own. “I'm more than okay sweetheart,” she spoke softly, he could hear the sincerity in her voice, held tight to it. “I couldn't sleep, decided to come to watch the sunrise…”  
  
“I should have thought of that before panicking,” he chuckled lightly at himself, “You did that the morning after our first time in France…”  
  
“It's nice, to watch the new day dawn, on what is the beginning of this new part of life,” she explained before her shoulders rose and dropped quickly.  
  
He could practically feel the self-consciousness wrapping around her like a familiar cloak.  
  
Pulling her a little closer, he bent his head to press his lips to the shell of her ear, smiling when some of the tension left her frame and a small sigh slipped past her lips. “I think it's a lovely idea.” She gave a questioning hum, and his smile grew as he nuzzled the spot where her neck met her shoulder, knowing full well it was sensitive there from the bite he had done hours before. “Next time you feel like watching the sunrise, let me know and we can do it together.”  
  
“Aren't we now?” Her voice was light, airy, the same breathless tone he had learned to recognized and greatly appreciated.  
  
“Well, we're together,” he agreed, taking more enjoyment in teasing her than the changing colors of the sky.  
  
“We used to wake and watch the sunrise every morning those two months, do you remember?”  
  
Andrew paused, turning his head to rest his chin on her shoulder. Thinking back through the endless memories from this life and that, he tried to focus on what she asked, tried to remember more than the basic knowledge of those two months they spent traveling from one estate to another.  
  
Releasing a small sigh, he turned his head, pressed his lips to her shoulder.  
  
She knew without him answering, as her hands tightened around his. “You found me that first morning at the Louvre, after we had finally had _our_ night. Walked up behind me on the balcony and wrapped your arms around me just like this. We watched the sunrise paint the sky, seeing as our room faced the west…” she had a smile in her voice, and he had a vague image of colors chasing the dark, that strong scent of heather in her hair. Marie had sent a yearly supply of heather oil to remind her of home, Mary had been using it in her bath since she was a bit of a thing and first arrived in France. “We turned it into our morning tradition every day before the wedding at Notre Dame, stolen moments of peace before life would rear its head and make us be rulers once more.”  
  
“I liked those days, supporting you in your rule, it was simple and peaceful, before Henry's madness made me have to choose between you and France…”  
  
“Me too,” she agreed softly. “I thought it was all over, when we had moved on to the next estate, when we no longer had plans, your mother, my ladies to distract us from what we had been ignoring for months…”  
  
“You mean the hurt feelings over our first wedding date, and my brother…” Andrew watched her nod, his mind drifting over the facts he knew. “How did it all finally happen? I know we fought, but I don't remember details…”  
  
She released a soft sigh, “Our second night at the estate, at dinner I mentioned how your brothers would love the snow festival we had visited, more than the one at the castle. You didn't know what I was talking about, and I briefly explained Bash moving the festival since I had insisted they needed some fun… You muttered about how it shouldn't have been a problem for them to go to the village…”  
  
“You interrupted with an apology that it was your fault. I snapped in agreement, because it was. You changed their lives as much as ours…”  
  
“I pointed out at least you had a life to live and that was it, the barrier holding back months of pain was broken and we spent half the night yelling before you walked out.”  
  
“You slept on the divan in the room, waiting for me and Stirling to return,” he remembered returning with a cold and wet, but happy, dog as he had walked the grounds of the garden for hours, trying to reign in the anger that she had put them through it all. The inkling of fear that his brother had been telling the truth that she had fallen in love with him, that perhaps more had happened between them as his brother purposely implied.  
  
Bash had been the only person to know that he had taken Mary to his bed, he had come to see Francis after his mother was dealt with as Bash had put it, armed with alcohol and the need to confide his fears about the attack to someone he could trust. Using the secret passage had ensured no one would know of their late-night drinking, and unfortunately meant finding Mary asleep in his bed when he had been returning from his chamber pot. Between his naked ass, and Mary’s naked calf peeking out of the blankets Bash would have been an idiot to not put together what had happened.  
  
So, Bash's insinuation had become a dark thought he fought to ignore, trying to convince himself Mary wouldn't have, that Bash wouldn't have. After their fight though, it had festered in his mind, an open sore. He hadn't dared go back to their room until he felt he could be calm and rational, that he wouldn't accidentally hurt her with words, or worse.  
  
“You woke me to watch the sunrise,” she continued what she knew, of course not knowing the hours he spent watching, wondering if the tears he saw were for what had been done to them, for his brother, or for something else. It was days before he finally asked the question that plagued him, only finding true peace after she told him every moment he had missed that she could remember - the good and the bad. “I knew you were still angry, but you still woke me for sunrise, for our quiet moments of peace. It gave me hope that we could work through it all, be stronger for it.”  
  
“We weren't so good at keeping that tradition up back at Fontainebleau…” he admitted, memory drifting through the short year or so they lived at his father's favorite palace after their wedding before it all ended. Part of him half amused she had done it again, bringing his memories forward with just her words.  
  
“No,” she agreed quietly, “life was too busy, we were pulled too many ways by a world we weren't ready to lead…”  
  
“A world not ready for us just as much as we weren't prepared for it,” Andrew countered softly, letting the memories fade again to focus fully on her.  
  
“I know,” she nodded, one hand had raised from his, her fingertips drawing absently along the back of his hand and wrist. “Nothing in the world was prepared for our ideals, it took a long time to learn I couldn't change it to the better world we had dreamed of.”  
  
He simply turned to press his lips to the side of her head, knowing nothing could be said to change the hardships she remembered facing in Scotland and England.  
  
“Can we do it right this time?” she turned her head towards him, eyes rising to him with an earnest look. “We can't avoid fights, they will come no matter how rare they've been so far. It's life and we will argue and disagree. Can we always remember that there's a new day, watch the sunrise together after even if we haven't found an end to it, like we did those two months?”  
  
Andrew smiled, pressed his lips to her temple and lingered there a moment, “I can't always promise the sunrise, but I promise I'll find some way to remind you if I can't be awake for the sunrise.”  
  
Her chuckle told him she understood and accepted, he was not the early riser out of them, hiding away from the sun most mornings while she woke with it.  
  
“Good,” she whispered, turning back to the sunrise.  
  
Andrew smiled, happy with the content tone in her voice, and settled in to simply hold her as she enjoyed the sunrise.  
  
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Monday, July 10th, 2019  
****Glasgow, Scotland  
****8:15 a.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**They had twenty-four beautiful, amazing, hours, just them locked away in their private castle and turret.  
  
Then life intervened and they had to return to the others.  
  
They all gathered together at the farmhouse just after two-thirty, loading into one of five vans that became a caravan to Glasgow Airport, each driven by one of her relatives from England, well other than Granny Rose. Almost everyone was returning stateside at different times today, except her mother who was spending a few days with her Uncle and Aunt in Staffordshire.  
  
She could freely admit she was ecstatic that her mother was staying with the family and would hopefully work on her relationship with them, while also avoiding the chance her mother had the same flight home as her.  
  
Their entire collection of sixteen was on one flight together home, first to Halifax, then Toronto where they had rooms booked for the night, and finally back to San Francisco.  
  
Rosemary felt half bad for the others on their plane… only a little though.  
  
She was fully taking advantage of their assorted friends, having talked them into helping so they could get as many of the flowers from the wedding home as possible, so to speak. The bouquets of roses that had decorated the reception had been carefully sorted while she and Andrew were on their short excursion, those in bloom were plucked and had petals put in containers for drying while the long-stem rose buds were in containers with preserving agents. Her own bouquet was in a large one, being carried by Claudia who had insisted since she could make James carry her carry-on supplies leaving her bag free to house the bouquet.  
  
She, in turn, had done to Andrew what his mother did to his father, so she could safely get her mantilla home with the gifts her Granny Rose and Aunt Joan had given her at the bridal tea. She didn’t know how long they had been working on them, but they had presented her with a wedding ring quilt for their bed, done in creams with red. Rosemary had looked at her cousin and seen the knowing smile, and known then that Rose had told her grandmother and Granny Rose what color they had gotten their bedding set in.  
  
The second item was an embroidered sampler, meant to hang on their wall, again she had seen her cousin’s influence since it had an image of her favorite Mickey and Minnie, from the Victorian holiday collection from ten years ago, and written in red was:

“ _May God be with you and bless you  
_ _May you see your children’s children  
_ _May you be poor in misfortune  
_ _Rich in blessings  
_ _May you know nothing but happiness  
_ _From this day forward”_

She had hugged both of them close, and made a promise not to trust these precious items to check-in anymore than she did the mantilla from Rosaline. Thankfully, Andrew had merely smiled and taken her tablet, change of clothes, toothbrush, and hairbrush to find room in his bag.  
  
It was one of those things that made the fact they were married all the more real.  
  
She loved every moment of it.  
  
The caravan had arrived at Glasgow Airport just around five-thirty, and everyone unloaded at drop-off while the drivers took the vans to turn them in. Check-in was dealt with by those who were heading back to the states while her mother and Granny Rose waited for the rest of their group to check-in for their flight to London.  
  
While they were checking in for their flight to England, the rest of them headed over to The Sandpiper restaurant to get as many tables as they could so they could have breakfast together before heading to their separate gates.  
  
Breakfast was a busy affair, of course, how could it not be with the number of people they had to take over tables at the restaurant. It was nice, having one last meal together before they packed everything up to go back to real life as it were.  
  
Andrew had smiled as she grabbed scones, clotted cream, and strawberry preserves for the flight once they were past security, having the tea, for now, that came with the order.  
  
Settling in at their gate, decks of cards were produced and their group of sixteen prepared for an hour wait, eagerly looking forward to Toronto and the hotel where plans were in place for an epic Mad Quao game in her and Andrew’s room thanks to the numerous copies of the game that had traveled with her, Sasha, and Stephanie.  
  
As she curled into her beloved, she would admit their ‘honeymoon’ period would be far from traditional.  
  
It was everything they wanted though, and she wouldn’t change it for a minute.


	10. Chapter 9

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
****Chapter 9  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Friday, December 13th, 2018  
****Irvine, California  
****6:15 p.m.  
****  
:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Andrew was whistling as he arrived home, he couldn’t help it. It was his last day at work until after Christmas, and Rosemary’s last day at Plaza Vista until after the new year. **  
  
**Knowing his wife, she was busy working on dinner, listening to Christmas music, possibly singing along. **  
  
**That was how he had found her when he got home every day since the weekend after Thanksgiving when they had unpacked their various Christmas decorations together and decorated their home for the first time. **  
  
**He hadn’t been surprised at the amount of Disney related items that emerged, while she had oohed and awwed over every delicate snowflake that he had received as yearly presents from the relatives back in New Orleans. **  
  
**By the time they had returned to work on Monday morning, their home had been completely winterized, and, thankfully, Smokey had not once felt the need to go after the tree. Rosemary had assured him, but considering his sister’s cat was reigning terror in Rolling Hills, he couldn’t help but be afraid. **  
  
**Tonight, he was surprising her with the secret he had kept for five months since their wedding, and he could hardly wait. Well, he could also hardly believe they had been married for five months, five blessedly peaceful and quiet months. Especially when mentally compared to the first five months of their first marriage. **  
  
**One of those bonuses of this life versus that, the drama was dramatically reduced, _thankfully_. **  
  
**He had finished his internship and gotten into the graduate program as predicted, while to his pleasure, Rosemary had been recommended by her mentor to replace another middle school teacher who was going on a year sabbatical to study in Europe, and his love ended up working with her friend at the school she had fallen in love with. What would happen when the year was over, neither of them knew quite yet, but they knew they’d take whatever came one day at a time, and would get through it together. In the meantime, she enjoyed her work, that’s what mattered most in his mind. **  
  
**Stepping out of the car, he grabbed the stuffed animal he had picked up with Rachel’s help, hit the button to lower the garage door behind him, and made his way into the kitchen. The delicious scent of cinnamon, apples, and brussel sprouts had him pausing to glance into the oven, before he continued on his hunt to find her. **  
  
**She was in their office, writing a letter at the desk that had arrived from England earlier that month, a Christmas present from her family. Probably writing her cousin he knew as he crossed the room to stand behind her, bending down to rest his chin on her shoulder. **  
  
**“Good evening, my love,” she spoke with a smile, not looking up or ceasing her cursive as it moved across the page. **  
  
**“Good evening Mary, my love,” he echoed, turning to kiss her cheek, “Get a letter from Rose today?” **  
  
**“I did,” she answered, placing a period before putting her pen down. “She’s pregnant,” she continued, turning her head to look up at him. **  
  
**“Congratulations to her and Richard,” he spoke honestly, while also watching carefully for her reaction. **  
  
**They hadn’t been actively trying to get pregnant, nothing like their first months of marriage had been in their first life. They hadn’t not been trying either though, so he wasn’t quite sure if she was okay that nothing had happened as each month brought her cycle, or not. The happiness radiating from her proved that regardless of where they stood, she was pleased for her cousin, and he would relish that for the time. **  
  
**At some point, he knew they should probably discuss things, just so neither of them would potentially worry about the other’s feelings. Life had been busy in its mundane nature, and he hadn’t known about rocking the boat. **  
  
**“So, I saw you made brussel sprouts for dinner,” he smiled as he stepped back. **  
  
**“Yup, better deal,” she grinned as she stood, stretching slightly as she did. **  
  
**“I’m putting cheese on mine, you know that right?” **  
  
**“I’ve gotten used to that,” Rosemary chuckled as she stepped around the chair. Leaning up she pressed her lips to his cheek, “Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes if you want to get comfortable.” **  
  
**“Sounds good,” he pressed his lips to her forehead before stepping back to walk out of the room to their bathroom, “Oh, Rosemary,” he paused to look back at her from the doorway. **  
  
**“Hmm?” she looked up from pushing her chair in after closing the roll-top desk. **  
  
**“Catch,” he instructed, before tossing the stuffed Mickey towards her. **  
  
**She caught it, and grinned when she saw the Mickey that was part of the Victorian Holiday collection she loved so much. He smirked, before making his way to the restroom, knowing she’d find the note carefully taped to Mickey that would start her on a hunt for where he had hidden the matching Minnie the night before. **  
  
**He had just finished changing out of his business wear into pajama pants and a t-shirt when he heard her squeal from downstairs. Stepping out of the closet, he simply waited as the sound of feet running upstairs grew louder and she appeared shortly after, throwing herself into arms he managed to get open just in time. **  
  
**Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around her, “Like it?” **  
  
**“You got me Mickey and Minnie,” she giggled by his ear. **  
  
**“Yes,” he agreed, relishing whatever she was about to do, but also preparing for it to be very loud. “I thought you’d appreciate them, and they could watch over the house while we’re gone.” **  
  
**“Gone? Gone where?” Rosemary pulled back to look at him, confusion crossing her features. “We aren’t going anywhere until your parents on the twenty-third…” **  
  
**“Go look in the top drawer on my nightstand,” he nodded towards his side of the bed. **  
  
**Looking between him and the nightstand, she quirked an eyebrow before making her way to the bed, setting the stuffed Mickey and Minnie, that matched the ones in the embroidery on the wall that had come from her Granny Rose, on the bed, she sat down to look in his nightstand. It took all of thirty seconds before the expected reaction hit, and in the place of his normally calm and quiet wife was a bouncing, quivering, giggling impression of a human. **  
  
**Andrew still thought watching her do that over something Disney related was the best thing in the world, even if his father still questioned how she didn’t have a heart attack with how red she got when she was ‘Disney giddy’ as Rachel put it. **  
  
**He watched as she visibly took deep breaths to calm, before turning to face him and held up their flight confirmation for Monday morning and the confirmation for their reservations at the Port Orleans-Riverside resort. “How?” **  
  
**“I was evil, signed us up for the Disney World honeymoon thing. I took a guess at places you might like, so we have reservations scheduled for various restaurants but we can always change them…” he knew his nerves were starting to set in as he shrugged. “Everything is paid for, including souvenir money.” **  
  
**Rosemary stood and walked over to stand in front of him, one hand raising to rest on his cheek. “You did this… You’re volunteering to go to Disney World with me…” **  
  
**The nerves fled as he saw how happy she was, how amazed at his choice to go to Disney World with her. “Hey, I like going to Disneyland with you,” he pointed out with a shrug. “And you talk of dreams about Disney World at Christmas all the time, I figured it was the best time to go.” **  
  
**“You’re amazing, you know that?” she asked softly. “Always have been, something tells me you always will be.” **  
  
**“Well, it’s easy, when it’s something that makes you smile.” **  
  
**Her grin grew, before she stood up to press her lips to his, “I’ve got two days to get both of us packed, I hope you’re ready for this.” **  
  
**“More than prepared,” Andrew chuckled, “first, dinner. Then we can start packing. Mom’s coming tomorrow night to steal the guest room so she can drive us to the airport Monday morning and take Smokey back to stay with them.” **  
  
**“You’re thought of everything…” **  
  
**“I’ve had plenty of time to plot,” he grinned, plucking the papers from her hand and setting them on the bed. Linking his arm with hers, he pulled her towards the stairs and dinner. **  
  
**She looked back fondly at the papers before sighing and following him. He was going to enjoy watching her plot and plan, and enjoy herself every step of the way. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Wednesday, December 18th, 2018  
****Orlando, Florida  
****10:37 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Rosemary grinned up at Andrew as they waited for their transport back to the hotel, leaning into his side as they waited for their boat. “Thank you,” she whispered. **  
  
**Andrew’s arms tightened around her reflexively, “What for?” **  
  
**“This. It’s been wonderful,” she spoke in simple reference to the last three days. **  
  
**They had spent a busy weekend packing, and had a lovely evening with Claudia before leaving for their early morning flight to Orlando from LAX. After they checked in to their room Monday afternoon, they enjoyed the carriage ride Andrew had arranged along the water before having a quiet dinner at the Boatwright’s Dining Hall in the New Orleans themed resort. **  
  
**Lots of pictures were taken on the carriage ride, and just around the gorgeous resort before they retired for the night so they could be up and going bright and early the next day. **  
  
**The day before was spent at Hollywood Studios, enjoying the holiday decorations and different parts of the park, including the entire new section dedicated to Toy Story. After the evening holiday light show at the Tower of Terror, they wandered over to Disney Springs. **  
  
**They took their time, following the Christmas Tree Trail, and exploring all the different stores. As they wandered from store to store, picking up souvenirs and replicas of some of their favorite ornaments from the trees on the trail, they also participated in Stitch’s Gift Hunt. She knew that Andrew had enjoyed that, had seen it on his face, as they searched in each store for Stitch and his various gifts for the members of his family. When all was said and done, he insisted she added the pin that was the reward to her slowly growing collection of pins. **  
  
**They ended the night by grabbing some treats from Amorette’s Passtierie to take back to their room, including the little chocolate mousse themed like Mickey and a cheesecake with blueberries and lemon curd. She was hooked, and determined to learn how to make something similar at home for both of them. **  
  
**Today was the day she had been most eager about: their first day at the Magic Kingdom. **  
  
**Yes, it was not exceptionally different from Disneyland, but the differences were everything she had been looking forward to. **  
  
**They wandered all over the Magic Kingdom, enjoying treats and rides, and getting plenty of pictures with as many characters as possible. They hadn’t pushed themselves an exceptional amount though, knowing they were coming back the next day for the morning and the Party that evening. **  
  
**On the other hand, she knew he wasn’t as big on Disney as she was, and part of her was concerned he wasn’t enjoying it as much as he might be trying to make her believe. **  
  
**“You’re welcome,” he smiled down at her. “So, what’s been your favorite thing so far?” **  
  
**Rosemary pondered the last three days, “I think I’d have to go with Goofy,” she smirked as he twitched slightly, holding back the chuckle she knew he had at the memory. Goofy had tried to steal her away for dancing in Frontierland, and while she had found it amusing, Andrew had found it more amusing to play the disgruntled lover when all was done, just to get her to laugh some more. “Watching you and Gaston was also amusing…” **  
  
**“Gaston is a hoot,” Andrew chuckled. **  
  
**“I still can’t believe he tried to get into a flexing contest with you, and you took him up on it…” **  
  
**Andrew’s grin grew, “Well, I couldn’t very well ignore it in front of my girl, could I?” **  
  
**“You’re silly,” she laughed lightly as the boat returned to pick them up. **  
  
**“I blame the gingerbread.” **  
  
**“It is awesome gingerbread,” she agreed with a smile, thinking of the piece stashed away in her bag. “Not sure how it explains your silliness though.” **  
  
**“Seemed as good a reason as any,” he offered as they sat down, he pulling her close as soon as they were settled. **  
  
**“You’re weird,” Rosemary murmured, snuggling into him to ignore the chill in the air as they moved across the seven seas lagoon. **  
  
**“And you love me,” he countered. **  
  
**“Every moment, every day, every bit of me,” she agreed with a smile he couldn’t see. **  
  
**“My life,” Andrew whispered against her hair. **  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
****Saturday, December 21st, 2018  
****Orlando, Florida  
****7:18 p.m.  
  
****:-:-:-:-:-:  
  
**Andrew smiled to himself, watching as Rosemary enjoyed the chocolate eclair they had picked up in France at a quick service counter after their dinner in England. **  
  
**He had the macaroons and had merely grinned as she wrinkled her nose over them. **  
  
**Arms linked, they were slowly making their way around the World Showcase, pausing for pictures of the Christmas decorations, keeping an eye out for Chip or Dale for the scavenger hunt, and mostly simply enjoying themselves on their last day at the Disney parks. **  
  
**It was interesting, how quickly the days had passed when he looked back over them. Hours spent wandering all things Disney, and he wasn’t as tired of it as he might have thought he would be. **  
  
**Maybe she was rubbing off on him. **  
  
**Or, more likely, he had simply enjoyed it all through her eyes, like he had learned to with Disneyland, and could appreciate it a lot more now than he had as a child. **  
  
**The Christmas Party on Thursday had been incredibly fun. After dinner at the Liberty Inn Tavern with Minnie, Goofy, Chip, and Dale, they had enjoyed a quieter park as it was limited to the party guests. They had plenty of cocoa Ave cookies, enjoying the special shows and meet and greets that they chose to do, though they mostly stayed away from characters and stuck with photos in front of decorated buildings. The night ended with snow, and it had been amusing watching his love stare up in amazement at the snow. **  
  
**She forever amazed him with how much she enjoyed such simple things most people wrote off as childish or not worth much at all. **  
  
**He started plotting a trip north to Tahoe before the end of the season if they could swing it, wanting to see Rosemary in true snow. Mary had adored playing in the snow, he couldn’t help wondering if that had changed or stayed the same. **  
  
**Maybe he’d even bite the bullet and go see his mother-in-law on the way up or back… **  
  
**He knew it would get brownie points for both of them with the woman if they showed up and spent time with her. Rosemary had finished one too many weekly calls lately with a sigh because Maryanne Douglas was annoyed she was spending the holidays with his family and had never considered spending it with her own mother… or at least that’s how Maryanne seemed to take it. **  
  
**The Animal Kingdom the day before had been probably his favorite park, not so much for the Avatar world - though that had been interesting and some of the flight ride had been pretty spectacular - but because of all the animals. **  
  
**They had both smiled when watching the tigers, remembering the pirate that they had unfortunately been forced to seek assistance from to fund a war, and the tiger that had in the end been used to taunt Catherine. He’d been angry enough at the time to enjoy watching her squirm. **  
  
**Looking back he knew a part of him regretted it, the loyal son, but he could admit to still finding a chuckle at the look of shock that had crossed Catherine’s features when Mary had snapped the riding crop so Catherine jumped back almost into the tiger’s paws. **  
  
**Catherine did always so underestimate her. **  
  
**They had two days until they flew back to L.A., where his father was supposed to meet them and take them back to Rolling Hills to spend Christmas, but today was their last day at the Disney parks, with tomorrow plans being across Orlando at Universal Studios, for the sole purpose of visiting the Harry Potter part of the parks. **  
  
**Most of Donovan’s Christmas presents were going to be bought there, to go with the extensive collection of presents they had bought for everyone at Disney World, and the collection of items they had gotten for themselves. **  
  
**Rosemary had been forced - happily - to buy Mickey themed luggage the day before to get all their extras home since they had only bought one suitcase each to Orlando. **  
  
**He was just glad they had chosen to stay on property and thus all their purchases were being sent back to wait for them at their hotel. **  
  
**“Ooo, ornaments!” Rosemary spoke, looking up at him before darting towards the store she had spotted in Germany. **  
  
**Chuckling to himself, he followed after her into the glass ornament shop, she was like a kid in a candy store, so many Disney related stores to look through. **  
  
**By the time he caught up with her, she had picked out four ornaments and was idly glancing around at another tree full of them. He raised an eyebrow when he saw two of the pickles, but had to admit the teddy bear with a pretzel was cute, and he hadn’t been surprised to see the bird. He had learned quickly when decorating their tree that she had a love for ‘pretty’, as she put it, blown glass ornaments, but was a true sucker for candles and birds. **  
  
**He could see where the candles came from, a throwback to a bygone era. The birds also didn’t surprise him, having seen her former home in Vallejo, and he had kept that in mind when hunting for her Christmas gifts even, finding a few new birds to add to her collection. **  
  
**“We don’t have a pickle for the tree, neither does your sister…” she offered when she saw his eyebrow. **  
  
**‘Fair enough,” he nodded, “does she need her own pickle yet?” **  
  
**“She will,” Rosemary answered mysteriously before handing him the basket. “Please?” **  
  
**“Where shall I find you?” he asked with a small smirk. **  
  
**“One of the stores, I won’t leave the pavilion,” she promised with a smile, “Looking for Chip or Dale.” **  
  
**Shaking his head, he watched her wander off, and went to wait in line to purchase the ornaments. She did this now and again, when she wanted to try to sneak a gift for him, leaving him to make a purchase. **  
  
**When he found her, she was holding a drink with whipped cream on it and smiling like the cat that ate the canary. **  
  
**“Found a chipmunk in the toy shop above the door, muffin,” she explained as he pulled out the map from a back pocket and fixed the correct sticker to its spot. “Tea?” she held the cup up, after he put it back. “Some creation in cahoots with Werther's,” she explained with a shrug. “It’s German and spiced, and yummy.” **  
  
**Taking the cup, he stole a sip, before nodding his head in agreement, it was good. “You’re sharing,” he smiled as he handed it back, then swiped a finger through the whipped cream with its caramel drizzle. **  
  
**She wrinkled her nose at him, “Hey, no stealing the whipped cream.” **  
  
**“Too late,” he winked, before finding her arm again to lead her back out of Germany and towards the next part of the world. **  
  
**Rosemary surprised him, pulling him towards a quiet bench near China a few minutes later. Taking the moment for what it was, he pulled her close and just enjoyed the quiet, watching as families hurried by. **  
  
**“Do you think about it?” she asked after a few minutes. **  
  
**“Hmm?” he looked down at her, mildly confused. She nodded towards the people passing by, but said nothing else, and he turned to watch before he thought of what she might be asking. “Kids?” he asked softly. **  
  
**“A family…” she voiced quietly. “We haven’t talked about it, all this time.” **  
  
**“I was wondering when it might come up, after hearing about Rose’s pregnancy…” he admitted, letting his head rest atop hers. “What’s going on in your head, love?” he pressed gently. **  
  
**“We haven’t tried to avoid me getting pregnant, but we also never really discussed if we wanted babies. I know before, it was _everything_ in so many ways, for so many reasons, and we never were blessed with a child in the end… Not together at least,” she corrected herself. “Do you _want_ kids Andrew?” **  
  
**He couldn’t help but frown slightly, realizing she was right and they have never actually said they wanted a family, but then it had never crossed his mind it needed to be said. “Do _you_ not want them?” **  
  
**“No fair answering with a question,” she poked his side sharply. **  
  
**“Sorry,” Andrew answered automatically, before turning so he could face her, see her facial expressions. She was guarded, but still watching the people going past. He could tell though, she was fully aware of his movements, waiting for his answer. “I would love and cherish any child we had,” he began softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair back behind her ear. “I didn’t think it was something that had to be said, so I never brought it up. I’m sorry if that made it confusing for you.” Her eyes darted to him, before looking back out at the crowd. “On the other hand, if you tell me that you don’t want kids, I can live with that. Our marriage then was never about a baby, this marriage now isn’t either.” **  
  
**She shook her head, hand reaching over to find his. “I’m worried,” she admitted quietly. “I had so many miscarriages in our first life, more than you were aware of,” she glanced back at him. He frowned, thinking back over what he knew, remembering when she thought she might have been pregnant the week before their return to Fontainebleau, only to declare it must have been wishful thinking and stress about returning to Court life. Beyond that, he only knew of the once, when she had told him after suspecting for some time… **  
  
**“That’s why you waited to tell me about the pregnancy near Jean’s christening,” he sighed as it suddenly all made sense, “How many times had I missed, before you decided to wait to be sure?” **  
  
**“Five, including one while you were living in Paris,” she answered softly. **  
  
**Andrew couldn’t stop from sitting back a bit, feeling like he’d been hit as his mind raced over past conversations in this life, “You said you knew my fear of you being pregnant wasn’t needed, that you cried when you realized you weren’t…” **  
  
**“I didn’t want to tell you then, when we had only reconnected in Brighton, how I really knew you had no reason to fear,” she gave a half smile, “I’m sorry I mislead you…” **  
  
**Shaking his head, he pulled her into his arms, “I get it,” he spoke softly. “I’m not exactly happy, but I get it,” he continued gently. “I wish you had told me, in France especially.” **  
  
**“Oh love,” she breathed, reaching up to cup his cheek as she pulled back a smidgen. “I couldn’t tell you in France,” she continued softly, watching him with an open face. He could read every emotion in her eyes, on her face. “You were so eager for us to have a child, I remember when I told you I wasn’t sure on our honeymoon… you tried to hide the excitement, but I caught it. You handled it beautifully, you never let me see you upset. That time we had so little time to hope, that I think it was easier for both of us to get past. After that though, while feeling the pressure of everyone we knew… you were what got me through. You reminded me time and again it would happen when it was right for us. The next time I got pregnant, it was around First Light, and I chose to wait a bit longer before I said something than I had on our honeymoon. I was thankful in a way that I had, when I lost that baby. It happened again, just around Lola’s marriage to Julian… Of course, looking back, the amount of stress we were under with your father, with keeping Lola’s secret even though I had wanted to tell you, but how to break our oaths of friendship…” **  
  
**“Especially when you feared it would take me from you, understandably considering what so many others in our situation had done,” he nodded. “So you waited longer with the fourth, with the one I knew about…” **  
  
**“Til I was past the time I had lost all but the first. Nostradamus assured me time and time again that it looked safer than before.” **  
  
**“Nostradamus was gone just after the plague…” Andrew frowned, wondering if she had been pregnant during the plague. **  
  
**“Yes,” she admitted, “He knew I didn’t trust anyone else, and returned as soon as he was feeling well enough in secret to see if the baby had continued to thrive. You weren’t the only one he returned for,” she shrugged slightly. **  
  
**Andrew nodded, thinking back on his mother’s trusted adviser. Nostradamus had proved to be a good friend, and he had to give the man credit for purposely setting up his father for history to remember in his place. “That’s four, when was the fifth?” **  
  
**“I lost the fifth after you went to fight for Calais.” **  
  
**“I wish you had told me,” he sighed softly, brushing his hand through her hair. “That you hadn’t gone through that alone.” **  
  
**“I survived,” she shrugged and he shook his head. **  
  
**“You were always a survivor Mary,” he countered quietly. “Promise me, you won’t leave me out of the loop this life. The good, the bad, I want to be part of it all. For better for worse…” he reminded her softly of their vows. **  
  
**Rosemary nodded against his chest, but said nothing else for several minutes. He simply held her, figuring she would talk more when she was ready. He wasn’t exactly surprised when she pulled away and rose from the bench, holding out a hand to him. “Shall we brave the Frozen insanity in Norway?” **  
  
**Andrew smiled, taking her hand to stand up. “I’m game if you are.” **  
  
**“Twenty minutes, then we escape…” she nodded decisively. **  
  
**“Twenty minutes,” he agreed, taking her arm back in his so they could join the surge of humanity enjoying the park with them. He had a feeling she was still hiding something, but she’d tell him when she was ready. For now, they were going to enjoy their vacation, and he would work out his feelings about all those lost babies later while holding her as they slept, as he often did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well my darlings, we are almost at the end of this visit to Rosemary and Francis' life.
> 
> I have been working on the next part, but sadly life has interfered so it won't be up right away. It will be out there eventually, once life settles down and I can devote more than thirty minutes a day to attempting to write.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well my darlings, here we are at the end of story 2. As I said last week, I'm not ready to be posting story 3, but as soon as I get things done, I'll start getting it up live.
> 
> Crossing fingers it will be soon.
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely words and kudos that I received, it meant the world my loves.
> 
> Until next tale.

**:-:-:-:-:-:  
** **Epilogue  
** **:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
**Wednesday, December 25th, 2018  
** **Rolling Hills, California  
** **9:17 p.m.  
**   
**:-:-:-:-:-:  
**   
Rosemary smiled as she watched her new family enjoying the tail end of Christmas together. **  
**  
She was curled up on the loveseat, nice and toasty under a blanket with a cat curled up on her feet, holding a cup of apple cider. **  
**  
A part of the insanity, yet quietly separate from it all. **  
**  
Arianna and Donovan sat playing the Monopoly she and Andrew had picked up for them in Orlando - their own copy of The Nightmare Before Christmas edition. Newly engaged Rachel was talking with Max about plans for when they returned to San Diego. **  
**  
Watching Andrew’s face when Max proposed in front of the entire family had been amusing the night before, he hadn’t known whether to be the happy or protective older brother for a moment, before happiness for his sister won out. It made her smile to imagine him that way one day, when it came to their own children. **  
**  
James and Claudia were curled up on the couch, talking about something quietly while Rankin-Bass Christmas claymations played on the television. **  
**  
She could just see Andrew, through the glass door with the present that had come from his younger sister. A small furball of a puppy that according to the family had been found curled up asleep with Smokey on more than one occasion during the week they had been in Florida. **  
**  
She knew that they would have to deal with their landlord when they got back to Irvine, pay another deposit and extra for the rent. Watching him with the small red and white Huskey made it worth it though. Francis had always adored Stirling, she shouldn’t have been surprised to see that Andrew took to the puppy instantly, and vice versa. **  
**  
Smiling to herself, she took another sip of the cider. **  
**  
It was going to be fun, watching Andrew train the dog. **  
**  
Hearing her phone chime, she pulled it out of the pocket of her sweater, and read the message from her mother. Her fingers flew over the screen, typing back a message about plans to come up in a week for New Years Day. **  
**  
They had talked about it while having dinner at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley, and decided to go up to San Francisco for New Year’s Eve, spend the evening at the Wharf like he used to while in college, then see her mother the next day. **  
**  
She just had to convince him to keep her news to them for the time being. **  
**  
Before she slipped her phone back in her pocket, she snapped a picture of Andrew on the ground with the puppy trying to climb his head. She put it up on Facebook, tagged Andrew and waited, knowing the comments would come pouring in from their friends soon enough. **  
**  
She took the time to glance through her feed, smiled when she saw the picture of Tom and Stephanie in Reno holding up a certificate. Shaking her head, she hit comment and typed a quick ‘ _Guess the cake doesn’t lie. Congrats!_ ’ before hitting send. **  
**  
Kyla was going to kill their friend, and she was going to laugh with popcorn for her and Sasha the entire time. **  
**  
“Hey beautiful,” Andrew’s voice spoke in her ear. Glancing up, she smiled at him, kissing his cheek before turning back to her phone. **  
**  
“Apparently I have to get a wedding gift,” she explained, holding the phone up for him to see the picture. **  
**  
“Knew Tom wasn’t looking forward to a big wedding,” he shrugged, “We can look for something in the City while we’re there.” **  
**  
“Sounds like a plan,” she nodded, “Maybe we can convince them to come to visit one of the three day weekends coming in January and February.” **  
**  
“Definitely a plan,” Andrew smiled. “Maybe by then I’ll have Yasu a bit better trained.” **  
**  
“Yasu?” she looked over at the puppy who was trying to curl up with Smokey on the couch, and Smokey was staring at the puppy as if to say ‘how dare you wake me’ but otherwise was doing nothing as the puppy tried to settle. She pulled her feet back, rescuing them from the two animals. **  
**  
“Yasu, Japanese for peace,” he explained, nodding towards the two. “Considering he’s living in peace with your cat over there, it seemed appropriate.” **  
**  
She snorted back a laugh, “Very appropriate,” she agreed with a smile. **  
**  
“So, looks like I can’t join you on the love seat, since those two already have claimed it..” he trailed off, looking pointedly at the two animals who would be sharing their home. **  
**  
“Well, we could always go for a walk…” she offered with a smile. **  
**  
“You sure?” Andrew looked at her, concern etched in his expression. “You’ve been huddled under a blanket all day…” **  
**  
“I’ll be fine,” she countered with a smile, handing him her mug of cider before moving to stand up. **  
**  
“Going somewhere?” Claudia asked, looking up from what had held her and James’ attention. **  
**  
“Just a walk,” Rosemary smiled. **  
**  
“Ahh, well don’t be long. We’ll have dessert when you get back.” **  
**  
“Don’t take too long,” Rachel spoke up, “I want Mom’s pecan pie.” **  
**  
“I need to finish the chocolate cream pie, so you have a bit of time,” Claudia interjected as Andrew came back from putting her mug in the kitchen. **  
**  
“We won’t be more than twenty minutes,” Andrew promised his sister, warned his mother, and she had a feeling was threatening her. **  
**  
She smirked up at him, then caught his hand with her own, leading him towards the door out to the patio. Within a few minutes, they were meandering along the area around the pool, her arm resting in his, simply enjoying the quiet of the night. **  
**  
“Do you want to go riding tomorrow?” Andrew asked as they walked past the pool house. “If you aren’t as cold as you were today…” **  
**  
She shook her head, “Not this trip,” she stopped walking, ignoring the look of confusion he shot her. “I just remembered, I left one of your Christmas gifts in my suitcase…” she explained, slipping her arm from his and skipping towards the door to the pool house. **  
**  
“Rosemary, it can wait…” he called after her. **  
**  
Stopping at the door, she glanced back at him and smiled. Rising one hand, she crooked her finger towards herself three times, before dashing inside. In truth, she hadn’t left it in her suitcase, she had put it on the bed when she had snuck back down while he was helping his father make breakfast with his brother. **  
**  
She was waiting sitting on the counter when she heard him enter the building. **  
**  
“Love? What are you up to?” he asked, before the light flipped on and she blinked a moment to get past the brightness of the previously darkened room. Smirking, she nodded towards the bed. **  
**  
He simply looked at her a minute, obviously trying to figure out what was going on in her head, before walking over to the bed where the teddy bear she had picked up in Orlando at the German pavilion sat. **  
**  
“You got me a teddy bear?” he asked with a smile as he turned to face her, bear in hand. “Thank you,” he continued, honest sincerity in his words but she could still see the confusion lurking in his eyes. **  
**  
“Well, it’s not exactly for you,” she tilted her head to the side, lightly kicking her legs back and forth away from the counter. **  
**  
“It’s not?” Andrew frowned, moving towards her, “Then why give _me_ the teddy bear?” **  
**  
“Well, I figured a teddy was a good place to start.” **  
**  
Her stomach was all aflutter with nerves and happiness jumbling together. As he moved closer, she could feel the familiar peace of his presence wash over her, even as the butterflies continued in her stomach. **  
**  
She remembered this feeling well, and a bridge watching over green grass. **  
**  
“Start what?” The bear found a spot on the counter as he stopped in front of her. **  
**  
“Start collecting… for the nursery,” she kept her eyes on his face, watching as lovely blue eyes widened, then dropped their gaze to her midsection before shooting back up to hers. **  
**  
“Really?” Andrew whispered, a hand reaching out to barely brush fingers against the spot above her belly button. **  
**  
“Really,” she echoed with a smile, “I went to the doctor to confirm the home tests the Thursday before our trip.” **  
**  
He stepped forward into the space between her legs, hand raising to rest on her jaw as he touched his forehead to hers, several breaths were spent just breathing together. **  
**  
“How long?” he asked softly. **  
**  
“Thirteen weeks on Monday. When I missed my period in November I didn’t want to get my hopes up. When I missed it again this month, then I went and got a home test. I wanted to be really sure before I said something, so I got the first appointment I could with my OB.” **  
**  
“Thirteen weeks,” he nodded slowly, pulling his head back to look at her. She loved the look of awe on his face, it was the same look he had when she told him in France all those many, _many_ , years ago. “You’re out of the first trimester then…” **  
**  
“In a week,” she corrected, “Then it’ll be less likely to miscarry,” she nodded, “Not entirely out of the realm of possibilities, but it’s less likely.” **  
**  
“So, I get to be ecstatic right?” he asked carefully, “or are we wanting to keep it quiet still…” **  
**  
“I’d like to keep it quiet until after we see my mom, at least _from_ my mom. And it seems right to let Rachel and Max keep their day, unless you tell me that you’re sure they won’t mind sharing…” **  
**  
“My sister isn’t going to give a crap about sharing her engagement day with my announcing she’s going to be an aunt day,” Andrew chuckled. “Though you can’t put your mom off forever…” **  
**  
“I was just thinking a week,” she countered with a shrug, sighing when she saw his knowing look, “Fine, we’ll tell her at lunch when we see her. You get to help me cope with her for the next twenty-seven weeks of hormones and her.” **  
**  
“Twenty-seven weeks…” he breathed, “when are you due?” **  
**  
“The end of June. I have to go talk to the Principal, let her know I plan to try to finish the school year but warn her of the possibility…” **  
**  
“Whatever happens, we’ll get through it,” he promised before suddenly he was kissing her. **  
**  
Rosemary smiled into the kiss, and was completely unsurprised when he pulled her back with him as he stepped from the counter, to spin them lightly in the spot where they stood. She giggled as he set her down, looking up at him beaming smile. **  
**  
“You’re going to be horrible aren’t you?” **  
**  
“I’m going to drive you crazy,” he agreed, “And you’re going to love every minute.” **  
**  
“There won’t be a first-anniversary trip…” **  
**  
“Sure there will, we’ll go to Disneyland for the day,” he countered with a smile. “Celebrate our first year of marriage, and our first child.” **  
**  
“First?” she raised an eyebrow, “Do you have a number in mind?” **  
**  
“Oh, how’s five?” he asked with a wink. **  
**  
“Crazy,” she laughed, raising her hand to rest on his cheek. “but, as long as we’re together, I can do crazy.” **  
**  
“Good,” he nodded, before stealing another kiss. “Let’s go tell my family.” **  
**  
“And get my chocolate cream pie,” she agreed with a smile. **  
**  
“Now I get the chocolate obsession at Disney World, I thought for sure you were going to get the creme brulee at Italy, and you went for the eclair.” **  
**  
“Yes, chocolate is my downfall, I suspect it will completely ruin my figure.” **  
**  
“Oh well, I love you with or without your figure.” **  
**  
“Thank God,” she laughed as they left the pool house to head up to the main house. **  
**  
Tomorrow might be unknown, and she couldn’t help be a little fearful after the memories of so many lost chances, but she would face it all knowing he was beside her, that he would be beside her through thick and then. **  
**  
After all, they didn’t have a prophecy hanging over their head this time. And plenty of modern medicine. She didn’t need to fear him leaving anytime soon. **  
**  
She planned to enjoy every minute, thankful for the second chance they had, a second chance at everything.

**Author's Note:**

> Retrouvailles is a French word that refers to the overwhelming relief and joy that accompanies seeing someone after a long separation.
> 
> This story is under Reign as a category, but the only characters that show up (at this point at least), are Francis and Mary; it's my own spin on what if reincarnation exists, and what if they could get a second chance. How much of them would be the same, how much of them would be different?
> 
> P.S. In case it's not obvious, I don't own Reign, or anything you recognize. I'm just playing with the characters.


End file.
